02 Sep 2010
The Electoral Commission, the independent elections watchdog, has published its assessment of the proposed question to be used in the upcoming referendum on the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales.
The Commission carried out public opinion research and invited responses from interested individuals and organisations in Wales, including accessibility and language experts, in order to establish that the question, proposed by the Secretary of State for Wales, could be easily understood by voters.
While the majority of respondents believed the basic structure of the question should be kept, the Commission’s research shows that the wording of the question was not easy to understand and was, in some cases, ambiguous.
The Commission aims to put voters’ interests at the heart of its work including its assessment of the proposed referendum question. With this aim in mind, the Commission has proposed changes to the introduction to the question and the question itself based on the evidence gathered throughout the assessment process. These proposed changes are set out in the report which is published today
Ian Kelsall, Electoral Commissioner for Wales, said:
“The subject of the referendum is a challenging one to communicate, and drafting a question is far from an easy matter. We are therefore grateful to the Secretary of State for Wales for giving us the full 10 weeks we needed to assess the question, ensuring we were able to talk to voters across the country and to hear their opinions.
“It is important that some key words, phrases and terminology are redrafted if the question is to be understood by the voters, thus ensuring full participation in the referendum.
“We hope that our report and proposed redraft will demonstrate that our priority has been a question that voters can understand, so that they know what they are voting for.”
The Secretary of State for Wales is required, by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, to consult the Commission on the wording of the proposed referendum question. The Secretary of State is responsible for deciding the final wording of the question put to voters.
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For further information contact:
Press office on 029 2034 6810
Outside office hours: 07789 920414
press@electoralcommission.org.uk
Notes to editors:
1. The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the UK’s democratic process. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections. The responsibility for running elections and overseeing the count lies with Returning Officers and the Electoral Commission reports afterwards on the administration of General Elections in the UK.
2. The Political Parties, Elections & Referendums Act 2000 gives the Electoral Commission certain statutory responsibilities in relation to referendums. More details on our role in a referendum can be found here: www.electoralcommission.org.uk/elections/referendums
3. The Commission’s report on the proposed question can be found at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/_media/response-submission/commission-responses-to-external-consultations/Question-assessment-report-English.pdf
