ALTHOUGH the May 5th date for the parliamentary and county council elections was set four weeks ago, the work of the deputy returning officer for the Wycombe constituency began more than five months earlier.

Preparation for the general and county council elections began back in December for Janet Clements, deputy to Wycombe District Council's chief executive Richard Cummins.

Mr Cummins is the returning officer, the one who announces the results for the Wycombe constituency in the small hours of the morning.

Everyone knows when this is about to happen because he will call out to the rosette-decorated candidates and their agents to come over. He will get into a huddle with them to tell them the numbers and make sure they agree.

So, by the time the shattered candidates march up onto the platform for Mr Cummins to make the formal announcement and it is very formal they already know their fate and whether they are to be publicly sacked and have to put a brave face on it or to be allowed to continue for another five years.

But before those climatic few moments there is a lot of hard work.

Mrs Clements said: "We have to make sure all the polling stations are booked and all the voting papers are ready. It is a long process and starts well before the election is announced."

In the weeks leading up to election night, the ballot papers have to be printed, making sure each candidate appears on the paper with correct party affiliations and name spellings.

Polling stations also have to be checked for availability and suitability. Many schoolchildren benefit from a day off as their schools are requisitioned. Village halls, memorial centres and even private homes have been used.

Polling day is now always held on a Thursday. No-one seems to know why. It is a tradition, but there have been calls for voting to take place on Sundays, as it does on the continent.

Last year's Euro elections in the UK were held on Thursday, but the votes were not counted until Sunday after the European polls had closed.

Some people might say this would be a reason to get in step. Others may feel differently.

Governments tend to have a narrow window of opportunity to pick the right day to go to the country. In high summer everyone is on holiday. In the winter they won't turn out.

One reason why the past two general elections have been held on the same day as the county elections is that the county elections are in May; not too cold and not too hot. And of course there is always the hope that more people will vote if there are two sets of elections.

Polling booths open from 7am and close at 10pm, which is longer than it used to be, but more and more people are now voting by post. And the system could change even more if electronic voting is introduced.

The work for Mrs Clements and Mr Cummins does not end until the final ballot papers have been counted, verified, and a winner declared sometimes more than 24 hours after the start of the process.

As voters make their way to the polls, final checks need to be carried out to ensure ballot boxes are distributed to all stations to ensure the smooth running of the election.

Only voters are allowed inside the polling stations but party activists wait outside asking people who they are. This is so that they know which of their supporters have voted, so they can round up stragglers.

Inside people get two papers one yellow, one white for county and parliament and one ballot box to put them in.

When the clock strikes 10pm the polls close and the ballot boxes are swiftly taken to the final phase of the election process the count. In Wycombe's case, this is the sports centre at Handy Cross.

Nationwide there is always a race to be the first constituency to declare but a rural county such as Buckinghamshire is not going to win any races. After the result has been declared, people are far more likely to walk out into the sunlight than be able to go home and watch the bulk of the results come through on television.

Despite the complexity of election day, Mrs Clements remains confident the night will pass without any significant problems. She said: "I have been involved in many elections and there has never been any problem, so I'm sure this one will go smoothly. We sometimes get the odd problem with spoiled papers, but nothing serious."

To prevent any wrong-doing during the count, Mr Cummins and his staff have to remain focused right to the end. Mrs Clements said: "It is difficult to say what we are looking for, but we have to keep the antenna on in any case."

Sitting at long tables, piles upon piles of ballot slips have to be meticulously sorted by the election officers as representatives of the candidates cast an eye over their every move.

Although it is only the parliamentary ballot papers that need to be counted on the night, the county papers also need to be sorted into candidate piles ready for a separate count the following day.

Once the ballot papers are sorted, the count begins. Teams of tellers, mostly employees of the district and county council, who are paid for the extra night's work, begin the arduous task of totting up the number of votes each candidate has, knowing any numerical error will not be tolerated. The possibility of the need for a recount can never be ruled out, and plans for that possibility are always in place.

Mrs Clements said: "We can either have a complete recount, or can look at selected votes at every 50 or 100 to make sure they are in the right piles. The final decision rests with Richard Cummins, he has all the responsibility. We will always consult the candidates' agents."

When the count is complete, the returning officer will call the candidates and the agents together to look at the figures. If everyone is satisfied, he will go on stage to read out the figures and the new MP for the constituency is announced, usually by about 2am on Friday.

As the acting returning officer, Mr Cummins is also charged with getting the result to The Queen.

By that time, everyone will be too tired to go on, so the hall will be sealed and everyone will go home.