Electoral Commission proposes series of reforms after election chaos

The chaos that saw voters locked out of polling stations on general election day has damaged voter confidence in the process, the Electoral Commission has said as it unveiled a raft of proposed reforms.

Its inquiry into the problems found 30% of voters were ‘not very’ or ‘not at all confident’ that elections were properly conducted in May, against only 4% who held this view of the previous year’s polls.

The commission called on the government to lengthen the timetable for general elections and address “what role, if any, advance voting might play and also if there is a case for requiring proof of ID at polling stations in Great Britain”.

It also called for a mechanism to hold returning officers to account for the delivery of their statutory functions.

At present these are unclear, although Sheffield City Council chief executive John Mothersole voluntarily forwent his returning officer fee after people were unable to vote by 10pm in the city.

The report called for a change in the law so that voters who are queuing at polling stations at 10pm are able to vote.

It endorsed the long-standing demand from electoral administrators to introduce individual electoral registration in Great Britain, rather than registration by heads of household, but said this must be done “in a way that maximises the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register”.

Administrators have supported individual registration as an anti-fraud measure but there remain doubts that all eligible people will bother to register themselves.

Commission chair Jenny Watson said: “We are lucky to have inherited a trust based system from previous generations. But this cannot endure forever.

“Voter confidence is fragile and may take time to re-build after high profile problems like the ones experienced at some polling stations at 10pm.

“In the vast majority of constituencies elections were well run – but this is despite the system, not because of it.”