This page contains some of our statements and responses.
Commission Chair - speech to UCL Constitution Unit
On June 30 2009 Jenny Watson, Chair of the Commission, set out her vision for rebuilding public confidence in democracy and putting the voter first. You can read a transcript of the speech here (PDF) and find more details in our press release on the speech.
Statement on Slough case sentencing
We have made a statement on the sentencing of six men for offences relating to the May 2007 election in Slough Central ward. The men were sentenced to a total of over 13 years in prison by Reading Crown Court.
Our response to the Scottish Government's paper - Chief Returning Officer for Scotland
We have recently publish a paper outlining our response to the Scottish Government's consultation paper (PDF).
Putting voters first: speech to SOLACE national elections conference (14 January 2009)
Peter Wardle, the Electoral Commission's Chief Executive, outlines the Commission's views on how the interests of voters can be put first in every aspect of the electoral process. Read the full speech here (PDF).
Weekend voting
We recently published our response to the Ministry of Justice consultation on weekend voting. We recommend that polling day should not at present be moved to the weekend, since there is a lack of clear evidence that it would be of significant benefit to the voter. Weekend voting could also raise a number of potential issues, for example in relation to resources and security.
Our analysis of electoral administration
In our reports on electoral administration published on 27 August we have called for changes to electoral law to make sure future elections are better run. More information is available in our news release calling for clear leadership for elections.
You can read our report for the UK (PDF) and report for Scotland (PDF) here.
Political Parties and Elections Bill
We have published a short statement in response to the Political Parties and Elections Bill, which was introduced to Parliament on 17 July.
This follows the party finance and expenditure White Paper which was published on 16 June, entitled 'Party finance and expenditure in the United Kingdom'. You can read our full response to the White Paper or the short statement in response to the White Paper here.
Electoral administration in the United Kingdom (December 2007)
On 12 December 2007 we published our report Electoral administration in the United Kingdom (PDF).
The report looks at the status of electoral administration in the UK, and highlights a number of challenges that need to be addressed by all involved in the running of elections. This includes ensuring better consistency in electoral law and elections management across the UK, addressing the current funding arrangements and an end to piece-meal changes to electoral law.
In addition we renew our calls for individual voter registration in Great Britain, to replace the current system of household registration.
As a result of this report we will now be undertaking a detailed examination of the structure of electoral administration in the UK, with a view to publishing options for reform by the summer of 2008.
