Electoral Commission calls for changes to polling laws, attacks returning officers for lack of planning

The Electoral Commission has called for the law to be changed urgently to allow people still queuing at polling stations at 10 pm to be able to vote.

Publishing its review into the events of 6 May, the elections watchdog found that:

• at least 1,200 people were still queuing at 27 polling stations in 16 constituencies at 10 pm
• in some areas the number of electors allocated to polling stations was too high and in others too low, and
• election officials failed to identify and respond quickly enough to the problems as they emerged.

The Electoral Commission said the government should take immediate action so that the problems are not repeated at future elections, including the May 2011 elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly and local government elections in England.

The watchdog demanded that local authorities and Returning Officers improve their planning, review their schemes for polling districts and polling stations and make sure they allocate the right number of staff and electors to each polling station.

The report found that some Returning Officers did not fully consider the possible impact of combined UK parliamentary general and local government elections held on the same day. Contingency arrangements were triggered too late, if at all, although the watchdog did acknowledge there was an “unprecedented late surge in demand in some cases”.

The Electoral Commission said it would review its guidance for Returning Officers to set out in more detail the key factors they should consider in planning for the provision and staffing of polling stations.

The watchdog also called for reforms to the structure for delivering elections in Great Britain so that elections are managed “more consistently and professionally”. It suggested that there are too many different individuals and bodies with authority and statutory responsibilities, and inappropriate and inadequate accountability arrangements for Returning Officers.

Jenny Watson, chair of the Electoral Commission, blamed excessively restrictive laws that mean that Returning Officers did not have a discretion to let people who had arrived before the polls closed to vote after 10 pm.

But she also heavily criticised some Returning Officers. “Returning Officers in the areas affected did not properly plan for, or react to, polling day problems,” Watson said. “That is unacceptable.”

She described the current system as too fragmented, with independent Returning Officers making their own decisions.

Watson added: “The Commission has previously called for better co-ordination and accountability, building on existing regional models. And there should be powers to direct Returning Officers where necessary.”