Combined Guidance for Returning Officers at Local Government and Police and Crime Commissioner Elections in England

A combined local government and police and crime commissioner election is a significant event which brings with it its own particular challenges. Your work to deliver well-run polls will come under considerable scrutiny – from voters, candidates and political parties, and the media including through social media. 

This section seeks to highlight some of the particular aspects of context relevant to combined local government and PCC elections which you should ensure underpin all aspects of your planning.

The Police and Crime Commissioner is elected using the first past the post voting system.

In some police areas, the candidate elected to the role of PCC also holds the fire and rescue authority function.

Nature of a combined local government and police and crime commissioner election

There are risks inherent in the combination of local government and PCC polls that will need to be mitigated for both elections to be well-run. 

As each police area encompasses a number of voting areas, you should be aware that there may be some places within the police area where the poll for the PCC election will not be combined with another poll. To minimise voter confusion, as well as to ensure that voters receive a consistently high quality of service irrespective of where they live, you will need to work closely with the PARO and other local government ROs / LROs in your police area.

The evolving political landscape could mean that even in places where there have traditionally been large majorities this may no longer be the case. The focus and circumstances could be different from anything experienced in your area before. 

There may be a significant number of new or less experienced political parties, candidates and agents who are unfamiliar with the practices and processes of the different types of elections and who will need your support to be able to participate effectively. 

Particularly given the possibility of close and hard-fought contests, you should be prepared for the integrity of this election to be scrutinised. Allegations and cases of electoral fraud will not only have a negative impact on the confidence of electors and campaigners, but they may also have a significant impact on your capacity to manage the election process effectively. It is therefore crucial that you put in place detailed and robust plans for monitoring and maintaining the integrity of the election in your area. You should work closely with the local police, ensuring you have in place good lines of communication for referring any allegations. For more information see our guidance on Maintaining the integrity of the election.

Scale and turnout

Many aspects of planning for the election will need to reflect assumptions as to the likely turnout for the poll. Establishing such assumptions at an early stage in the planning is of key importance as the scope for adjusting plans is limited at a later stage in the process.

The levels of engagement in a particular poll are often difficult to predict in advance of the election period. You should plan for the possibility of a high turnout and, as a minimum, you should assume that the turnout will be not less than the turnout at the last equivalent polls.

As the poll becomes closer, the context will continue to evolve as the campaigns pick up pace. You will need to be prepared to react to events which could have an impact on the effective delivery of the poll. This will include having robust contingency plans in place that you can turn to where required.

It is vital that appropriate provision of polling stations is made, with the numbers of stations and the numbers of staff within them sufficient to deal with the number of electors allocated to them. Although the legislation allows any voters in a queue at their polling station at 10pm to vote,1 the need to ensure that voters do not face undue delays in voting and can receive a high-quality service remains.

There is likely to be a media focus on the count and declaration of results and it will be important to manage expectations, not only of the media but of all with an interest in the results, by consulting on your proposed approach and subsequently communicating clearly what you expect to deliver and by when.