A UK Parliamentary general election must be held by June next year. With the possibility of just 17 days notice ahead of polling day, the pressures on those involved in running our elections are even greater than those faced at the European Parliamentary and English local elections earlier this year.
A general election is different. It produces a higher turn out than European and local elections, with particular impact at polling stations and for the count; more candidates and agents, including more independent candidates than normal, may be taking part for the first time; and there is not the same level of regional co-ordination than at a European election – meaning less support for Returning Officers (ROs).
Here we take a look at what you will need to do, and be aware of, before voters are called to the ballot box.
Build on performance
We want to see that voters, candidates and others have confidence that elections are delivered to a high standard. In our recent report on the June elections (PDF) we were pleased to find that, on the whole, the elections were a success.
But this leaves no room for complacency and there were lessons relating to performance, particularly around the integrity of the ballot and public awareness, that we want to see addressed for the general election. Issues such as problems with the production of ballot papers and postal votes, which affected voters in a relatively small number of areas in the June elections, will need to be addressed immediately.
Ensuring that electoral registers are complete and accurate is integral to a well-run election with accepted results. Our analysis of Electoral Registration Officers’ (EROs) performance against our standards framework (PDF) showed that while a significant number either met or exceeded the target of making sure registers are complete and accurate – one in five still needed to do more. We are in the process of meeting every ERO who didn’t reach the core standards to ensure an action plan is in place for the general election.
Be prepared: use our guidance
During the next few months our staff around the UK will be meeting with administrators on a regional, county and individual basis to ensure that they are aware of our available support in the run up to the general election.
We are developing a range of guidance for the election which includes manuals for ROs, candidates and agents guidance, polling station handbooks and quick reference guides.
Following recent debate on when votes should be counted at the general election, we have written to ROs making clear the factors they should consider when making a decision on the timing of the counts. We have also asked for information on when they plan to begin counting. We understand the desire in hard fought contests to get the results out as soon as possible, but our utmost concern is to ensure that voters can be confident in the accuracy of the election result.
We are working closely with the Elections and Registration Working Group, set up to include representatives from local authorities across electoral regions within the UK, to ensure that the products and guidance we provide best meet the needs of those conducting and standing in elections. More detail on the meetings can be found here.
We continue to highlight the importance of closely monitoring external suppliers to minimise risks to electoral processes. ROs need to ensure that a precise specification is drawn up for the delivery of any election material, including details of the quality expected and the timescales to be achieved. This message was reinforced both in our recent circular Essentials of Effective Elections Management (EC20/2009), and also also by Andrew Scallan, Director of Administration and Boundaries, at the recent Capita conference on Electoral Administration:
‘The importance of having confidence in your suppliers cannot be overstated. While having a contract is essential, it will be of little consolation to any RO to challenge a supplier in court after the election if voters have been deprived of their vote; the reputation of the local authority damaged and the credibility of the election challenged. ROs need to make sure that they have examined the best way of maintaining control of election materials which might mean, for example, that not all aspects of postal voting are contracted out.’
In order to support administrators with their practical preparations, we have developed a checklist of critical issues for external contracts which will be available on our website shortly.
We have also distributed an election essentials checklist for ROs (PDF) which covers things they must do when making their preparations, including creating a budget, advice on managing the count and ensuring that proper plans are in place for the election period.
Prevent electoral fraud
The 2009 elections saw 46 cases of alleged malpractice, but one case is one too many. We continue to work closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland (ACPOS), Royal Mail and political parties to put a structure in place to help prevent and detect electoral malpractice through focused integrity training, briefings and guidance materials.
We emphasise the need for Police Single Point of Contact (SPOC) officers and ROs to work together to put integrity and operational plans in place for each election. ROs are required within our performance standards to have a written plan in place outlining what steps they will take to deal with concerns about electoral malpractice.
We have published templates and supporting material to help ROs produce robust plans to manage the risks at future elections and we will draw these particular resources to the attention of those ROs who are found to have not met these standards for the June elections.
Follow finance rules
If the current Parliament is dissolved on or before 1 January, changes to the rules on candidate expenses introduced by the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 (PPEA) will apply.
Currently, spending limits for candidates begin when they formally become a candidate and end on polling day. This period is often known as the ‘short campaign’. The PPEA introduces a separate new limit, which begins when a Parliament has been sitting for more than 55 months. This limit ends when Parliament is dissolved.
Our initial guidance on the new rules was published in September 2009 and we will publish our final guidance in December 2009. Click to access an overview of the changes enacted by the PPEA and our party finance guidance.
There is always more that can be done to ensure a well-run election. On the back of the successes and lessons of the June elections, we will work non-stop with local authorities, political parties, candidates, agents and voters to ensure that when the next Government is voted for, the public can be confident in the integrity of our democratic process on poling day.
Find all our election reports and support materials on our elections and guidance pages.
