Planning for the verification, count and collation of results
You should work closely with the LROs in your area to inform any decisions early on about how the verification, counting and result collation is to be organised and managed across the police area.
You should plan and complete your consultation, dialogue and decision-making in good time, before the formal election campaign period begins. This is to enable LROs to reflect your decisions in their planning for the verification and count. You should also engage with any other stakeholders that have an interest, such as candidates and agents, political parties, voters and the media.
While you should seek input from those affected or interested to inform your decision-making, ultimately the responsibility for making decisions remains with you as PARO.
One of the aspects of the election process where you will particularly want to ensure that there is consistency is the verification and counting of votes, and collation of the result. You will therefore need to consider when, where and how the votes are verified and counted by LROs.
You may choose to hold the count at a central location or allow for counts to be held locally in some or parts of the constituent authorities. However, the verification and count are organised, you should ensure that local ROs’ plans will deliver a consistent standard of administration.
In developing your plans, you should have regard to the Commission’s principles for a well-run verification and count and consider other practical factors that may affect the organisation and timing of the verification and count. You can find more information about the count in our guidance for LRO’s on Verifying and counting the votes.
You should record all decisions about when, where and how to verify and count, and communicate these to those affected, bearing in mind that there may be different arrangements in place in different parts of the police area.
If different arrangements will be in place in different parts of the police area, you should ensure that you communicate clearly to candidates and agents, and others who may be attending or observing verification or count processes, which aspects of those processes may differ, and why.
You should put in place a robust protocol for the two-way communication of verification and count information between you and LROs, including verification figures and the communication of local count totals.
Where the election is combined with another election, effective co-operation between the different Returning Officers across the police area will be vital due to the increased complexity and volume of ballot papers.
Where the poll at a PCC election has not been combined with the poll at another election, you may take responsibility for the verification and counting of the votes in any or all voting areas by giving notice to the relevant LRO. If you intend to take on this responsibility you should notify the relevant LROs early in the election planning process, and liaise with them regarding when and how the ballot papers are to be delivered to you.