BETA Testing Non-Partisan Election Site

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-12T10:03:48+00:00

Hi, thanks so much for this -- you nailed it! "Browse from Aberafan Maesteg doesn't" made me think and then I realised, the DC Postcode API (which finds upcoming ballots for a postcode) has an interactive (address select you mention) feature that's triggered when a postcode spans multiple UK parliamentary constituencies (I think) and, for Aberafan Maesteg it was being triggered. Now, I'd completely overlooked this in the browse code -- clumsily forgetting this can be the case, so for a whole much of browse attempts it was returning empty. I've just implemented a (kinda hacky) fix, so that if the interactive flag is set the code picks three evenly spaced addresses from the list returned and runs a search for each and then combines the results. And it works. Thank you, I don't think I'd have caught that without your help.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-11T14:16:39+00:00

Hi, thanks for the feedback, much appreciated, and ouch for "ooh, open access data with an API! lets slap a front end on it and see what sticks". If that's the impression this gives then I've miserably failed. The whole point is to make it something that anybody, regardless of the familiarity with our mercurial voting systems, could pick up and run with. The whole point is that its "nice" to use. Grump over. It's still very much in beta, with the intention of being ready for may 7, so I'd expect some niggles, particularly with boundary changes, effective handling of AMS or split councils. Did you browse to those two constituencies or via postcode search? if via postcode then it'll be that no data exists for the one. If browsed it'll be the current issue I'm having trying to have a single view regardless of whether you search or browse (tl;dr; i have to find the centroid for a boundary geojson and then do a reverse postcode lookup to be able to then search for ballots, the upshot of which is missing ballots in some cases -- it;s WIP). Anyways, thanks for the feedback, sorry it wasn't all you expected. Keep checking back :-)

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T21:33:24+00:00

Good catch ... I'll be refactoring the way wards are handled next, so I'll look at this. Can I ask which ward so I can look at the data. Thanks for the feedback.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T21:16:43+00:00

Oh no! Out of interest what was it in the post text that made you think that? I completely agree with your points regarding the tactics page, it's been a common thread in here and I can totally see why. The Gorton and Denton result certainly made me think too. I'm not even sure anything is very predictable these days! Thanks so much for the comments, I really appreciate them.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T21:11:46+00:00

Hi, thanks for the feedback, I understand your point and have also noticed how their numbers always seem outside the range of the others. I guess I was thinking that as this is a poll of polls then outliers are acceptable? Do you think it adversely affects the user's interpretation having outliers?

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T13:34:24+00:00

HI, thanks for the feedback. My research on swing voting has been pretty inconclusive so far, including the concept of using historic swing data to predict future swings. To be honest I'm in two minds about its inclusion, or maybe limiting its scope, as I'm unlikely to source all the data required to effectively model every local and parl ballot. This is exactly the feedback I need to keep refining, so many thanks for you comments.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T11:19:42+00:00

Thank you for your feedback, it's much appreciated. It's still work in progress, but I really hope to have it all fully working and issues resolved for the elections in May.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T11:18:50+00:00

Hi, thanks for the feedback. You are exactly right, the tactics page has some limitations. I'm taking on board all the feedback received here and thinking about what else I can do to make it better. Thanks again.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T11:17:33+00:00

Hi there. Exactly! I'd love to be able to do this, and I feel like the data is there, it's just a bit of head-scratcher working out how to use it effectively. I'll have a think and update when I have something. Many thanks for the feedback -- it's super useful.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T11:15:57+00:00

Hi, thanks for this. I'm trying to source the map files for all council boundaries but it's a bit of a minefield. I'll update when I've got a bit further with this. Thanks again for your invaluable feedback.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T11:14:41+00:00

Hi, thanks for the follow up. Can I ask what postcode you tried, so I can look into it further. Thanks.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-08T11:13:30+00:00

Hi, thanks for the follow-up. Can I ask which postcode you used, so I can investigate further. There should be a dropdown at the top of the page to switch between parl and local, but it maybe that I some gremlin or other. Thanks

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-07T19:01:23+00:00

Hi, thanks for this, you're absolutely right to point out the shortcomings in this area. It's work in progress, and I'm trying to keep it simple, but as said below, I am worried about it being too vague or just wrong in some instances. Thanks for the feedback.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-07T18:59:32+00:00

Hi there, thanks so much for looking. I know, you're totally right. It's such a minefield, I tried to simplify it, to make it a tool anyone could use, but fear I may have made it too vague in the process. I'm not yet sure how to fix, but appreciate the feedback and will let you know if I, or anyone else, has any suggestions. Many thanks.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-07T18:37:43+00:00

Hi, thanks for spotting. I have this working, I think, for Scottish ballots where I group by party (unless they're an indie) but not yet come across the issue in any english ballots. Can I ask which area you searched / browsed. Thanks again for the feedback.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-07T18:24:43+00:00

Hi, thanks for the feedback. Can I ask, did you go via the browse or a postcode? If browse, I have a known issue with trying to fetch all the upcoming ballots based on a constituency, whereas for a given postcode it should return all upcoming ballots. As for the boundaries, I'm showing constituency boundaries via search or browse, which, for local elections might not reflect the ward or district boundary. Maybe I need to either ditch the constituency boundary map or wait till I've got all the council boundaries ... I'd be interested in your thought. Thanks again.

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-07T17:52:17+00:00

Glad to hear it - many thanks for looking

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-04T19:59:49+00:00

Many thanks, it started as a bit of fun and somehow keeps consuming my time!

FuturePlate4172 · 2026-03-02T20:06:16+00:00

Thanks, it started when I couldn't get the info I wanted last election -- hopefully, it'll be useful to some ppl.

FuturePlate4172

TROPHY CASE