Guidance for Returning Officers administering Local Government Elections in England

As prescribed in legislation, you are required to make arrangements for the verification and counting of the votes at the election as soon as practicable after the close of poll.1  

The legislation also specifies that you must take reasonable steps to begin counting the votes as soon as practicable after the close of poll.  

You should take decisions on the timing of the count before the notice of election is published and inform those with an interest, including local political parties and broadcasters, at an early stage. There will be an expectation among candidates, parties and the media that the results will be declared as soon as possible after the close of poll. You will therefore need to plan carefully how to manage the expectations of candidates, parties and the media. 

Methodology 

The way that you organise and manage the verification and count will have an impact on timing. 

You should consider using a mini-count approach when planning your verification and count. It is widely accepted that breaking down the verification and count, into areas smaller than the relevant electoral area, is particularly effective in achieving an accurate, timely result with clear audit trails.

The results from those areas are then aggregated to achieve an overall result for the relevant electoral area. Any counting issues that may arise will be limited to a more manageable area and any re-counts that may happen as a result, may be limited.

You will need to decide whether you will take the opportunity to start counting votes before the verification is completed 

You should allow sufficient time to conduct a well-run count process and ensure an accurate result in which voters, candidates and agents can have confidence.