Agenda item

The Committee received a report which provided Members with detailed information and results from the following By-Elections:

·    Rossington and Bawtry Ward by-election held on 16 November 2023

·    Stainforth Town Council by-election held on 16 November 2023

It was noted that these by-elections were the first in Doncaster to be carried out under the new voter ID requirements and improvements to support accessibility in polling stations that came into force on the 4^th May 2023.  It was also reported that, during the by-election timetable, the new Elections Act measures had come into force for postal and proxy voting revisions.

All Presiding Officers and Poll Clerks had undertaken a lengthy training session dedicated to voter ID and accessibility in advance of working on polling stations. All Polling Stations had been supplied with a privacy ID booth, mirror, tactile voting devices, large print elections stationery, pencils with grips and magnifiers to assist the visually impaired.

The Electoral Services Manager summarised the results of both by-elections, including numbers of postal votes issued and returned and total turnout figures.  It was reported that for the Rossington and Bawtry ward by-election, 3 postal vote applications and one proxy vote application had been received and successfully processed via the new ERO absent vote portal.

The Committee was informed that there had been no particular issues or problems arising from the new voter ID requirements at either of the by-elections and the process had run smoothly at polling stations.  Staff had been briefed on ensuring that there were no accessibility issues for voters at the stations and to make any necessary adjustments if it became apparent on the day that any individuals needed special assistance.  On this subject, it was noted that temporary lighting had been put in place at one particular polling station where the ground outside the building was uneven.

Councillor Church stated that he had spoken to a number of residents when out campaigning, three of which had said that they did not intend to vote in the by-election because of the new voter ID requirement.  In reply, the officers explained that there would be extensive publicity and information provided for voters for the next elections in May 2024, including national campaign material.  This would include the Council disseminating its own publicity information across its social media platforms next year to help spread the word.  It was also pointed out that the new requirements did not appear to be having an adverse impact on voter turnout, as the figure for the Rossington and Bawtry by-election of 19% was slightly higher than the turnouts of the last two by-elections held in Doncaster, which had been 18% and 17% respectively.

In response to a question by Councillor Pearson in relation to the costs of providing the Voter Authority Certificates and also the provision of support for those people who might struggle to obtain digital photos/IDs, the Electoral Services Manager explained that the Certificates were sent across to a central printer which then printed and posted out the Certificates, the costs of which were borne by Central Government.  Regarding support for people, it was explained that people were able to bring a hard copy printed photo or other photo ID into the Civic Office where staff would digitise it on their behalf and assist them with their online applications.  From next year, the Team was also planning to go out to visit people in their communities to explain the new process and provide assistance where needed with photo IDs and online applications for the Voter Authority Certificates.

RESOLVED to note the contents of the report.