Candidate Incorrectly Listed As Party Member

Vote.je has apologised after mistakenly listing Kirsten Morel as a member of a political party in manifesto booklets being sent to homes this week.

He is standing as an independent candidate in the St John, St Lawrence, and Trinity constituency in next month's election.

A spokesperson says it was an admin error and that revised leaflets are being sent out with the correct details.

We are sending out an revised leaflet to St John, St Lawrence and Trinity households with Kirsten Morel's correct details (not a reprint of the entire booklet). We are re-issuing as unfortunately the majority of booklets within this constituency have already been delivered.

— Vote.je (@Voteje) May 30, 2022

Deputy Morel says it is 'devastating and completely wrong.'

"This error by the States Greffe has really affected my electoral chances, in my view.

It's something I'm going to have to try to bounce back from and let everybody know that I am standing as an independent but I've now got to change election material to reinforce this message of my independence so there's extra cost and extra time incurred, all of which takes me away from the streets where I want to be knocking on people's doors and introducing myself.

The Greffe is meant to be impartial and whilst I trust that they didn't make this mistake on purpose, it was genuinely an error, it does mean that the Greffe's error could have a material effect on the election and that is completely wrong, that's just awful if that is the case.

They did do proofreading, they've told me, but what they didn't do and what would have meant this problem didn't take place, was they should have sent the proof of the individual candidates' pages to candidates for proofreading.

That way the liability would rest with us if there was a mistake and I would have certainly have picked up the fact they've put me in a party that I'm not a member of and would have had that changed very quickly, rather than them trying to do the proofreading themselves. They should have got candidates to do the proofreading.

In the worst-case scenario, if I missed out by a small number of votes, there is no question I would seek legal redress and seek to try to take the Greffe to court on that matter because this mistake made by the Greffe can have a material impact on my election." 

States Greffier Lisa Hart has posted on Facebook to say it was a 'genuine mistake' and that steps have been taken to mitigate any impact.

"A flyer is to be sent to all households in the constituency to ensure voters are fully aware Mr. Morel is an INDEPENDENT candidate."

The full list of candidates standing for Deputy in St John, St Lawrence, and Trinity is below:

• Gregory Guida - Jersey Alliance
• Andy Howell - Independent
• Hilary Jeune - Independent
• John Le Fondré - Jersey Alliance
• Elaine Millar - Independent
• Kirsten Morel - Independent
• Hugh Raymond - Jersey Alliance
• Mary Venturini - Independent

You can see the full list of candidates standing for election here.