Electoral Commission issues guidelines in wake of Tower Hamlets election count delay
The Electoral Commission has issued a series of recommendations to the Returning Officer of Tower Hamlets following a review of the delays that occurred at a key count in Tower Hamlets in May's local and European elections.
In addition to specific recommendations for the Returning Officer at Tower Hamlets, the Commission said that in all election counts, the Returning Officer should make clear in instructions to those attending any count that any communication between counting staff and other attendees at the count (including counting agents) should take place in English only.
It also said that Returning Officers should ensure that those attending the count should "commit to behaving according to the rules set out in advance by the Returning Officer and should immediately accept any instruction from the Returning Officer if he considers their behaviour unacceptable".
Ahead of the Parliamentary General Election in May 2015 the Commission also recommended that Returning Officer should publish his plans for the management of the count by the beginning of December 2014 and that the Returning Officer consider all possible options for suitable venues for future counts, with space for sufficient numbers of count staff and others entitled to attend.
The Electoral Commission said that there needed to be "immediate and sustained action to provide reassurance to voters, candidates and campaigners that future election counts will be well-managed and efficiently delivered".
Ahead of the Blackwall and Cubitt Town by-election on Thursday 3 July the Commission recommended that:
- the Returning Officer ensures all attendees at the count fully understand the process for conducting the count and the standards of behaviour which are expected of them at all times.
- the Police ensure that their plans for managing the public space outside the count venue enable people entitled to attend the count to enter and leave the venue freely and without obstruction.
- the Returning Officer ensures that all verification and count processes are transparent and provide appropriate opportunities for those who are entitled to observe to object to doubtful ballot paper adjudication decisions.
The Electoral Commission's review of the count in the Blackwall and Cubitt Town ward - which took 23 hours to complete - found that two main factors led to the count being delayed.
These were that :
- Delays in allowing access to the venue for count staff and those entitled to attend the verification and count meant that verification was held up by approximately two-and-a-half hours.
- There was an inadequate number of staff and resources available across the weekend to enable the returning officer to recover from the initial delay or to manage the number of ballot papers that needed to be verified and counted.
The Commission said that underlying these factors were plans for the management of the verification and count on Friday 23 May which proved inadequate for the number of ballot papers to be counted and the intense focus of candidates and agents on the count process.
The review was published ahead of the Blackwall and Cubitt Town by-election on 3 July to allow the Returning Officer to take on board its urgent recommendations..
However, an election petition challenging the result of the election for the mayor of Tower Hamlets was lodged with the High Court on 10 June 2014 and the Electoral Commission said that its report into the count delays had been drafted in a way that would not prejudice forthcoming judicial proceedings.
The Commission will later publish its statutory report on the conduct of the elections on 22 May across the UK. This will include relevant information on issues other than those relating to the count that arose during the elections in Tower Hamlets, such as alleged voter intimidation and campaigning outside polling stations.
Jenny Watson, Chair of the Electoral Commission, said: “With the May 2015 General Election fast approaching it is vital that everyone involved in the elections in Tower Hamlets learns from the experience of the 2014 elections so voters and campaigners in Tower Hamlets can have confidence in the administration of future election counts. We will be monitoring the Returning Officer’s response closely over the coming months and if we are not satisfied that sufficient progress has been made by September 2014 we will make clear what more needs to be done.
“More immediately, we have made specific recommendations ahead of the election count in Blackwall and Cubitt Town ward on 3 July and we welcome what the Returning Officer has done already to learn lessons from May’s elections, including moving the count to a bigger venue and taking advice from another experienced Returning Officer. We will now use our powers to observe at each polling station during polling day, and will also be present at the count.”