Agenda item

The Committee received a report which provided an update on the Elections Act 2022, with a particular focus on the new measures which had recently been implemented since the last meeting and new measures to be introduced early next year.  It was noted that the most recent changes related to postal and proxy voting revisions and the implementation of online absent vote applications via the ERO portal which was currently already used to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (free photo ID).

The Electoral Services Manager gave an overview of the new measures in relation to:-

·    Online absent vote applications;

·    New identity checking requirements for absent vote applications;

·    A new maximum time period of up to 3 years for a voter to hold a postal vote;

·    Changes to proxy voting limits – a person was not entitled to vote as proxy in any electoral area on behalf of more than four electors;

·    Overseas electors regulations – removal of the 15 year limit on voting rights for British citizens abroad and extension of the overseas franchise to all British citizens who have previously registered or resided in the UK;

·    The handling and handing in of postal votes and the secrecy of absent voting;

·    EU Citizens’ candidacy and voting rights;

·    Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 – this legislation would make it an offence at UK parliamentary elections and local elections in England for a person to be with or near another person at a polling booth, with the intention of influencing them; and

·    A new requirement to include a digital imprint on any campaign material issued on social media by certain persons, such as a registered party or a candidate.

With regard to processing postal vote applications, the Electoral Services Manager explained that with the new system, staff were no longer able to batch scan 25 postal votes at a time as they now had to be processed one by one. This had resulted in an increase in processing time from being able to scan 25 applications in under 1 minute, to taking up to 9 mins to process one form using the new portal.  It was noted, however, that the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) were aware of the administrative issues with the new system and had undertaken to make improvements and changes to update the system in January 2024 to make it more user friendly and efficient for electoral services staff going forward.

Councillor Pearson referred to the change from 5 years down to 3 years in respect of the maximum period that postal votes could be held by electors before having to reapply and asked whether the issue of how this impacted upon local authorities which operated on fixed 4 year period all out elections had been raised with DLUHC.  In reply, the Electoral Services Manager confirmed that this issue had been raised with DLUHC and the feedback received had been that they recognised that people moved and changed addresses and had to update their postal votes, resulting in postal vote application cycles changing.  It was also acknowledged that other elections were held in between the local elections. 

In response to a comment by Councillor James Church as regards the potential difficulties in recruiting and retaining an additional 173 Poll Clerks to work on elections as recommended by DLUHC, the Electoral Services Manager explained that an additional Poll Clerk had been employed at Polling Stations during the Covid Pandemic, so it had been done before.  However, she stated that it was possible that some staff might be deterred by the additional tasks they would have to perform on election duties in light of the new measures, such as checking voter identities, so the full picture would not be known until recruitment commenced in the new year.

RESOLVED to note the contents of the report.