The counting of votes in an election is a task which carries with it great responsibilities for chief executives who act as returning officers, and the staff who undertake the work. The strain of the event is even greater when the count takes place overnight, and then has to continue the following day.

So, should the practice of overnight counts, bringing with it the risk of fatigue among staff, be discontinued? It's an issue which has arisen in Scotland, where the elections for both the Scottish Parliament and local government are held on the same day. The next combined elections are due to be held in May 2007, when the task will become even more complicated as a result of the introduction of a system of proportional representation. This means there will be three different voting systems – first past the post and the additional member system (AMS) for the Scottish Parliament, and the single transferable vote (STV) for councils.