Local electoral services face significant economic, social, and environmental challenges which risk impacting on their ability to deliver well-run elections and referendums.

We are helping local authorities and electoral administrators to respond to these pressures. We are also supporting the consistent delivery of high-quality services for voters, and the development of resilient local electoral services by:

  • Setting challenging performance standards for local electoral services
  • Providing accessible guidance and support for electoral administrators
  • Supporting increased resilience of local electoral services
  • Ensuring the electoral system works effectively.

Work done to achieve this aim

  • We gathered data from local authorities about the implementation of voter ID at polling stations and surveyed those responsible for delivering elections to understand their experience. This data informed the recommendations we put forward to the UK Government as part of our post-election reporting on the May 2023 polls to improve the accessibility and workability of electoral processes. 
  • The implementation of the Elections Act continued to strongly impact electoral administrators, and we worked to support their understanding of and preparation for these changes. This included updating guidance to reflect changes to postal, proxy and overseas voting rules.
  • We produced comprehensive guidance on preparing for and delivering the elections in May 2024, designed to support Returning Officers and electoral administrators. Resources were also developed to help local authorities to communicate the Elections Act changes to their residents. 
  • Offered proactive support, resources and advice as the electoral community prepared for May 2024 scheduled polls and the July 2024 general election, particularly in relation to changes from the Elections Act. 
  • Updated guidance for scheduled May 2024 polls and the July 2024 general election, delivered it in HTML format for accessibility, for administrators, candidates and agents.
  • We set up a working group with local authorities to discuss collaboration on communicating changes to the public, and how best to work together. 
  • We hosted a webinar for Returning Officers across England in November, providing information about their responsibilities and the challenges facing the sector in the run up to next year's polls.
  • We continued to use the performance standards to support and challenge those running elections, to help ensure the consistent delivery of high-quality electoral services for voters and to address the known resilience challenges.
  • We worked closely with the Electoral Coordination and Advisory Board over the year to identify and help address 
    challenges around resilience and capacity, including in relation to polling station staffing and suppliers.

24% of local authorities that responded to our survey experienced significant issues recruiting polling station staff

The election went very smoothly for us, though this was on a low turnout with quite high postal voting rates. The bigger unknown is how we would have dealt with considerably higher numbers for a poll with a much higher turnout, such as a 
general election.

Electoral administrator

Performance indicators

IndicatorTarget2023-24
Accurate advice to Returning Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, and candidates & agents within three days (Great Britain)100%98.63%
Publication of accurate and timely guidance products for electoral administrators100%100%

Ongoing and future work to achieve this aim

  • Seek feedback on published guidance for May 2024 and identify learning for the future, to ensure we are providing resources to best support administrators. 
  • Gather data from electoral administrators in our post-election research to understand their experiences so these can be reflected in future recommendations and resources.
  • Continue to use performance standards to support consistent delivery from electoral administrators.
  • Create new public-facing web pages providing information on working at polling stations, along with resources to support electoral services teams to recruit staff. 
  • Continue to convene those best placed to support the resilience of administrators, including government bodies.
  • Continue to provide polling station finder with election information, and make these available to key media, to relieve pressure on local council customer services teams.