Election Law changes - very important if you have local elections this May!

10.19.14am GMT Tue 14th Mar 2006

Parliament has now ratified the secondary legislation measures for May 2006 Elections (and any by-elections that will take place after 23 March 2006). There are a number of changes that you will need to be aware of, most but not all concern postal or proxy voting, they are detailed below:

• Standardising polling hours to 7am-10pm.

• Allow electors to apply for a postal vote when registering to vote, though using separate forms

• Closing date for applications for postal votes moved to 11 days before polling day

• Clarification of the power to check signatures on postal vote applications

• Existing postal voters to give a reason for re-direction of their postal vote, and the outcome of applications for postal votes to be confirmed in writing - these two provisions to work in tandem to alert an elector if someone has falsely applied to re-direct their postal vote

• Applications for proxy votes still allowed up to six days before the poll but 'emergency' proxy votes allowed after this up to 5pm on the day of poll

• Replacement postal voting papers to be available up to 5pm on the day of poll and to include all voting papers, including the declaration of identity, not just ballot papers

• Allow for postal votes returned to polling stations to be collected throughout polling day

• Postal voting statistics to be collected for local elections, along similar lines to what happens at parliamentary elections and clarify that such statistics need to be sent to the Secretary of State and Electoral Commission within 10-15 days after the day of the poll

• plus a number of other regulations to do with access to registers

The measures referred to above are the only changes to electoral law that will be in force in time to apply to elections in May 2006. A range of additional amendments to electoral law - including further measures to tighten the security of the voting process - are contained in the Electoral Administration Bill, but those proposed changes will not be relevant for elections in May 2006.

Further information is available from elections@dca.gsi.gov.uk. or the Electoral Commission. For those of you who have not yet used Electoral Commission website, it is well worth a visit and you can download documents from it.

Related Link:

Visit the Electoral Commissions website