A call for Yorkshire CCC to declare null and void the ballot to elect representatives to the new members' committee has been rejected by club president, Robin Smith.

Eric Houseman, of Harrogate, one of seven candidates seeking to fill the four elected places, said he believed all the representatives this year should be appointed by the management board because some Yorkshire members had received more than one ballot paper and others had not received the election addresses of all of the candidates.

But Smith said that most of the 33 members who had received more than one ballot paper had been contacted and the error pointed out while only a small amount of members had not received information about all the candidates.

One of the other candidates, Scarborough-based Robert Hilliam, urged York and North Yorkshire members to vote for their local candidates otherwise the new members committee would be dominated by members from Leeds and West Yorkshire.

Hilliam, from East Ayton, said: "Even though I feel it is an unsatisfactory situation I think it is too late to change anything. The annual general meeting is only ten days away and the cost of correcting the problems would be prohibitive," he said.

"It is important that York and North Yorkshire members do send in their ballot papers if they want anyone from the region to represent them on the new members committee otherwise it will be entirely dominated by those from the Leeds and West Riding region."

Updated: 11:42 Wednesday, March 19, 2003