Well-run referendum shows elections can be better for voters
20 Oct 2011 01:55 PM
A report published yesterday by the Electoral Commission shows that coordination of the management of May’s referendum on the Parliamentary voting system delivered significant benefits for voters and could also improve the delivery of UK General Elections.
For the 5 May referendum - the first UK wide referendum since 1975 - the Commission’s Chair Jenny Watson, who acted as Chief Counting Officer, had a new role in directing local Counting Officers on how to deliver for voters and monitoring their performance in real time so potential risks could be addressed ahead of polling day.
At UK General Elections Returning Officers are given guidance but neither the Commission nor any other body has the power to intervene where poor planning is evident. The impact of this was felt in the 2010 General Election where poor planning by some returning officers led to queues at close of poll and some voters being denied their vote.
The benefit of coordination of the polls was reflected in voters’ experience on 5 May. Research following the referendum found that 85% of voters were confident that the referendum was well run compared to only 69% at the 2010 General Election. People’s satisfaction with the process of voting was also up from 2010 with 89% of voters stating they were satisfied compared to 80% in 2010.
For the referendum the Chief Counting Officer was able to issue directions that ensured a maximum number of voters assigned to each polling station and appropriate staffing levels. Directions were also issued to provide voters with clear and accessible materials. Chief Counting Officer and Regional Counting Officer interventions ensured 47 Counting Officers considered ‘high risk’ at the start of the referendum planning period had resolved those risks by polling day. No such powers exist for UK general elections.
The report also highlights that other elections already feature an individual with responsibility for successful delivery. In 2012, Scottish local elections and elections to the London Assembly will see the Convenor of the Elections Management Board and Greater London Returning Officer respectively take on that role backed up by a power of direction to intervene and improve poor performance by administrators if necessary. This contrasts to the complete lack of oversight in place for UK general elections.
The need for coordination to ensure a consistent high quality service for voters is of increasing relevance. It is possible that if the proposed parliamentary boundary changes are introduced as planned, there will be an increase in the number of constituency boundaries that will cross returning officer areas. Without a power of intervention it will be impossible to ensure voters enjoy a consistent high quality service even within constituencies.
The Commission’s report also makes recommendations on how future referendums can be improved. The report calls for a generic set of rules for referendums to be agreed by Parliament. Establishing a broad set of rules under which referendums would operate, separate from the important Parliamentary scrutiny of the particular question and franchise for a specific referendum, would ensure electoral administrators and campaigners could start to plan properly even if the legislation establishing the referendum is delayed. The report also recommends that there should be a minimum period of 28 weeks between Royal Assent and polling day at future referendums. Parliament only gave final agreement for the referendum on the Parliamentary voting system on 16 February 2011 leaving just 11 weeks before polling day. This was well after resources needed to be committed to planning a UK wide referendum and posed a risk to the successful delivery of the polls as well as limiting campaigners’ ability to organise and plan their activities.
Commenting Jenny Watson, Chair of the Electoral Commission and Chief Counting Officer for the Referendum, said“On 6 May the public and media were focused on the result of the first UK wide referendum for 36 years - there was no discussion of the delivery of the polls. That is as it should be. I would like to thank Counting Officers and their staff for their hard work in helping us deliver a successful set of polls.
“Having delivered a successful referendum we are now in a good position to take a view on how the management of elections can be improved. The ability to intervene to ensure best practice by local returning officers, and to prescribe consistent written material for voters that meets the highest accessibility standards, helped us ensure voters were put first on 5 May. These are safeguards that should now be put in place to ensure elections are always delivered to the same high standards for all voters.
“It was clear that lessons needed to be learnt from the 2010 general election and the problems that emerged with queues at 10 o’clock. Those lessons were about proper planning. Only with real time monitoring of performance during elections and the power to intervene when things are going wrong, can the Commission ensure those lessons continue to be applied ahead of polling day.
“The model for the referendum has shown clear benefits. It is time to ensure those benefits are also in place for future elections.”
For more information please contact:
Electoral Commission press office: 0207 271 0704
Out of office hours: 07789 920 414
Notes to editors
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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, 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).
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