Oxfordshire constituencies reverse position on timing of election counts

The counting of votes in three Oxfordshire constituencies will start immediately after the polls close on 6 May, and not the next day as was originally planned, with the acting returning officer citing legislation passed in Parliament two weeks ago as the reason for the change of heart.

Counts in Henley, Oxford West and Abingdon, and Wantage were due to take place at 9 am on Friday 7 May.

The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 requires acting returning officers to take reasonable steps to commence counts within four hours of the close of the poll. If they fail to commence the count within four hours, they are required to deliver a statement to the Electoral Commission setting out the reasons why the counting of votes had not started by 2 am.

Acting returning officer David Buckle said his team had revisited the assessment of the risks associated with commencing the count immediately after the polls close at 10 pm and concluded that they are acceptable.

He said: “Once legislation had gone through Parliament I had a duty to review my previous decision to commence counts on the Friday morning. There are increased risks with an immediate count, particularly as I will have key staff working through the night having already been active since early morning on polling day. The potential for mistakes is undoubtedly higher, which will mean more checks and balances being put in place.

“Ultimately, however, the will of Parliament is for an immediate count. I accept this and am therefore putting in place measures to allow us to comply with the legislation.”

Electoral Commission guidance published earlier this month says the extent to which steps taken by acting returning officers are ‘reasonable’ will depend on the particular circumstances in each constituency. This may be affected by geography and whether there are also local government elections taking place at the same time.

The guidance says that acting returning officers need to consider a number of issues, including:

• A suitable venue for the counting of votes
• The availability of an adequate number of well-briefed staff, including senior staff, who are able to work immediately following the close of the poll
• The need to ensure they can get ballot boxes securely and efficiently to the count venue, taking into account the geography and transport links of their constituency
• The volume and management of postal votes returned across the constituency, and
• The need to ensure verification and count processes are structured in such a way as to enable their efficient and effective conduct.

The Electoral Commission guidance adds that acting returning officers “should keep a record of all steps taken in order to be able to provide an audit trail demonstrating their decision-making process”.