Agenda item

To consider a report from the Head of Electoral Services providing an update to the Board on changes in voting behaviour, turnout and postal voting at elections in Leeds and an update to Board members on the the Elections Bill.

The Head of Electoral Services submitted a report to provide an update and inform the Board in relation to voter behaviour at the May 2021 elections and the proposed Elections Bill.

In attendance for this item were:

·  John Mulcahy – Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory

·  Sue Wolfe – Deputy Head of Electoral Services

The Board were informed of the following points:

·  At the elections held in May 2021, there had been a significant increase in voters using the postal service to vote. It was noted that 205k voters used the service. Members were advised that this was the largest number of postal voters in a single local authority in England. Following the May elections, the number of postal voters reduced due to the removal of applications made for these elections specifically, and a small number of cancellation requests. It was acknowledged that postal voters now stand at 195k.

·  With regards to the Election Bill and the proposal for voter ID, the Board were advised that the Elections Team were still awaiting further information from Government.

Responding to questions from Members, the Board were informed of the following:

·  The number of rejected votes was the same as usual. Information on the number of rejected votes can be provided and can be broken down to wards.

·  It was acknowledged that there had been no use of portacabins at the May elections due to Covid. Polling stations had been assessed prior to the elections to ensure that they were accessible to all. It was recognised that portacabins were not always accessible to all and there were cost implication in getting the portacabins and arranging for them to be ramped. It was not yet known if there would be any changes to polling stations at future elections. There is a planned review of the polling districts, through the Polling District Review which may have potential implications to polling stations.

·  It was noted that polling districts are reviewed every 5 years. The Board was informed that proposals would be sent to all Members for their views and comments. The review would also take account of the views submitted by the public.

·  The 2021 Election count had been carried over to the following morning as the verification process of all ballot papers had not finished until 3am on the Friday morning. This was due to postal votes arriving at polling stations on election day. Members requested to know how many postal votes had been handed in to polling stations. It was noted that this information was available.

·  Guidance and instructions are provided to staff and voters. All staff at polling stations receive training, Polling staff are also able to contact Electoral Service to ask advice.

·  Should voter ID become part of the election system the Government would cover the costs, there would be no cost to the voter.

Members also discussed the following:

·  The importance of using portacabins as polling stations for certain areas for ease of access to vote.

·  The importance of linking voting to the school curriculum.

·  Instructions for voting to be simplified.

The Board was advised that there was a cross party electoral working group which was well attended by all parties. The working group would be involved in the Polling District Review and any potential changes to voting.

The Elections Team were thanked for all the work that had been undertaken prior to, during and after the election.

RESOLVED – To note the content of the report and for the Head of Electoral Services to provide a further update to the Scrutiny Board once a timeline for implementation of the Elections Bill has been published.