I too have been one of the 'number takers' so derided by Ray, and I agree with what Nanny Jan and Roopat as to the reason. We took the numbers so that we could see who had voted; people don't want to be reminded that it's polling day at 6pm if they went out to vote at 9am. I am sad that the voluntary work of these people is treated with such disdain. Regardless of the political party, these people are demonstrating their interest in democracy, and doing a very useful job, whether or not the returning officer (who is being handsomely rewarded financially) likes their presence outside the polling station. I have sat on many occasions when people have handed me their polling cards when leaving the polling station, to indicate to me that they have voted for my party; and people who did not support my party would often give their cards to whoever was doing the job for the other party/parties. But after they were gone, without fail we would give each other the polling numbers so that we could all keep our records straight.
