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Electoral Commission intervenes to ensure voters come first

Voters in all parts of Great Britain should expect to see consistent levels of service from Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), said the Electoral Commission, the independent elections watchdog yesterday, after intervening to address underperformance by some EROs.

Earlier this year, the Commission identified 45 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) who had consistently failed to meet performance standards (see Notes to Editors 3).  Staff from the Commission met each ERO and worked with them over the past months to ensure that they had plans in place to deliver a service that met the required standards.

“It’s important that EROs do all they can to make sure people in their area know how to register to vote, and do so,” explains Andrew Scallan, the Commission’s Director of Electoral Administration. “If people don’t know they need to register, they could miss their chance to vote.  EROs need to have plans in place to keep their electoral registers as complete and accurate as possible.”

A report detailing the action taken by the Commission, Performance standards for Electoral Registration Officers: Report into EROs failing a performance standard in all three years, is now available:

The performance standards apply to EROs in Great Britain only, not Northern Ireland. Further details of ERO performance standards can be found at http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/performance-standards/electoral-registration

For further information please contact:
Electoral Commission press office on 020 7271 0704
Outside office hours: 07789 920414

Notes to Editors

  1. The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the UK’s democratic process. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections and are responsible for the conduct and regulations of referendums held under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (2000).
  2. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 gave the Commission powers to set and monitor performance standards for electoral services, for both Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Returning Officers (ROs).
  3. EROs are responsible for registering all electors in their local authority area and maintaining the accuracy and completeness of the register.  For the report on the performance of EROs published in April 2011, see http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/116444/ERO-Performance-Report-Final.pdf

 

 

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