News releases

The Electoral Commission has published its report on the May 2008 local elections in Wales.

The report finds that as the changes to election rules introduced last year are now firmly established, the elections went smoothly and there were few problems.

However, the report makes a number of recommendations for changes that will help prevent any potential problems in future years when elections are held across the UK and when voter turnout may be higher:

• Changes to electoral rules introduced in 2007 are now well established. This meant that organising the elections was a less challenging process for Returning Officers, and the report reiterates the Commission’s recommendation that changes to electoral law should not be made within six months before any election.
• The Commission was pleased that almost all Returning Officers checked personal identifiers (voters’ date of birth and signature) on 100 percent of returned postal votes. Electoral law only requires ROs to check 20 percent of postal votes, and the Commission continues to call on Government to make 100 percent checking mandatory.
• The report also found that public confidence in the security of postal voting has further increased this year. Our public opinion survey showed that 57 per cent of respondents said that postal voting was very/fairly safe from fraud or abuse, an increase of 17 percentage points from last year. But the Commission continues to call for improved security through individual voter registration.

Kay Jenkins, Head of Wales office for the Electoral Commission, said:

“Although the elections went smoothly in Wales this year, this does not mean that future UK-wide elections can be predicted to go as well. Our report makes a number of recommendations that will allow us to build on this success for future elections and to ensure that procedures are revised to avoid any problems.

“The elections in May showed the benefits of establishing electoral law well in advance of polling day to ensure elections are planned for and run effectively”.

In autumn of 2009, the Commission will be setting performance standards for Returning Officers to support improvements in the quality of election management and ensure electors’ interests are put at the centre of the democratic process.

Key figures from the report show that:

• 3,200 candidates contested 1,264 seats across all 22 county and county borough councils in Wales.
• Over 2.2 million people were registered to vote, and turnout was 44 percent, the same as the elections to the National Assembly for Wales in 2007.
• 15 percent of electors requested a postal vote (an increase from 13 percent in 2007), and 71 percent of them used their vote.

Ends/

For further information contact

020 7271 0704

Out of hours: 07789 920414

Email: 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
2. In Wales, there where elections to all 22 local unitary authorities; a separate report covers these elections.
3. There were elections to 137 local authorities across all regions of England; a separate report covers these elections.
4. In London, although there were no scheduled local council elections, there were elections for the Greater London Assembly (GLA) and the mayor; a separate report covers this election.
5. The full report is available on the Electoral Commission website.
6. A Welsh language version of the report is available on request.