Performance analysis 2021/22: Goal one

To enable the continued delivery of free and fair elections and referendums, focusing on the needs of electors and addressing the changing environment to ensure every vote remains secure and accessible.

This goal captures our role in overseeing the delivery of elections across all parts of the UK and focuses on three areas: delivering well-run electoral events, maximising and modernising electoral registration, and tackling electoral fraud.

Key achievements

To help deliver well-run electoral events we:

  • provided advice to Returning Officers, electoral administrators, candidates and agents to support the effective delivery of the May 2021 elections across Great Britain 
  • reported on the administration of the May 2021 elections in England, Scotland and Wales
  • were consulted by the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments on draft legislation ahead of the May 2022 elections 
  • published guidance and resources, and provided support to electoral administrators, candidates and agents, in preparation for the scheduled elections across the UK in May 2022
  • deployed – both directly and through local authorities and other partner organisations – an extensive range of new voter information materials relating to Covid-safe elections, to support voter confidence
  • worked with the National Police Chiefs Council, Crown Prosecution Service and College of Policing to provide new guidance for candidates and campaigners on recognising and reporting intimidation
  • worked with organisations supporting people with a disability to raise awareness of how to take part in elections and what support they can expect to receive
  • launched a new system for processing applications for accreditation for electoral observers 
     

To help maximise and modernise electoral registration, we:

  • ran mass-media voter registration campaigns across Great Britain, to raise awareness of the need to register and to provide information on how to participate
  • supported Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in Great Britain with delivery of the annual canvass, including through the provision of guidance and advice
  • worked closely with the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland to support the electoral registration canvass
  • reported on the 2021 electoral registration canvass in Northern Ireland, recommending reforms to modernise the registration process

To help tackle electoral fraud, we:

  • worked with the police and local authorities to support the development of integrity plans to help prevent electoral fraud
  • published updated data on alleged cases of electoral fraud reported during 2021, and new data on a small number of cases reported during 2022
  • worked with partners to run a campaign to raise awareness of electoral fraud, ahead of the May 2021 elections
  • delivered, with the National Police Chiefs Council, our annual conference for police elections Single Points of Contact as an online event
  • worked with the City of London Police Economic Crime Academy to host and contribute content to four training courses for police officers

Performance measures

Measure Performance
We publish 100% of guidance products relating to electoral registration on time with no substantive errors 100 %
Achieved
We provide accurate advice to Returning Officers (ROs) and EROs within three working days of receipt of the request. (Target 100%) 99.5 %
Achieved
Additions to electoral registers during our public awareness campaigns meet or exceed our targets 
(Target 640,000. Achieved 660,000) 		 104 %
Achieved 

Our activities during the year

Delivering well-run electoral events

  • The complex set of elections in May 2021 taking place in Great Britain were well-run, with high levels of public confidence in and satisfaction with the administration of the polls. We supported electoral administrators to deliver the elections with comprehensive written guidance and through our advice service. We also undertook campaigns and provided resources to help ensure voters understood how to participate with confidence, particularly taking account of the public health context. Our voter registration campaign activity supported the delivery of over 600,000 additions to electoral registers, through the use of mass advertising, partnership work and media coverage generation.
  • We supported the 2021 electoral registration canvass in Northern Ireland, the first since 2013 and which resulted in the largest ever register in NI. This included running a campaign to raise awareness of the canvass and encourage people to respond. We also supported the annual canvass in Great Britain, providing guidance and using our performance standards to support and challenge the work of Electoral Registration Officers.
  • We have undertaken preparations to support the May 2022 elections taking place across the UK. We have published guidance and resources for those running the polls and standing for election, working closely with a range of stakeholders from across the electoral community. We were consulted on draft legislation from the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments, and reflected the changes in our guidance and messaging.