Who does what at a parish council election and how to contact them
The Returning Officer
Parish council elections are run by the Returning Officer, who is normally a senior officer of the local authority and independent of the authority in respect of their electoral functions. You will be able to contact the Returning Officer for your area by contacting your local elections office. Addresses and telephone numbers of all elections offices can be found on our website www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter.
The Returning Officer will offer briefings ahead of an election and we strongly encourage you to attend, even if you have stood for election before.
The Electoral Registration Officer
The Electoral Registration Officer is responsible for maintaining the register of electors and absent voters’ lists for their local authority area. The Electoral Registration Officer is normally a senior officer in the local authority and may also be the Returning Officer. You can find the contact details for your Electoral Registration Officer at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter
The Electoral Commission
We are an independent statutory body established in November 2000 by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. We are currently headed by ten Commissioners, including a Chair. We report directly to the UK Parliament through a committee chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons.
We are responsible for registering political parties and non-party campaigners, the monitoring and publication of significant donations to registered political parties and the regulation of party and non-party campaigner spending at certain elections. We also have a role in promoting voter awareness. We are required to report on the administration of certain electoral events, to keep electoral matters under review and, if requested, must review and report on any electoral matter. We also accredit observers to be present at election proceedings.
We do not run elections but have responsibility for providing advice and assistance on electoral matters to all those involved in elections, including Returning Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, political parties and candidates.