Watchdog voices concern over council resilience and levels of abuse in report on elections in 2024

The Electoral Commission has called for urgent and coordinated action to tackle harassment and intimidation faced by candidates at elections, as well as reforms to postal votes.

Writing in a report that considered how the May local elections and the July general election were run, the watchdog also said that broader local authority resilience "remains a significant concern", blaming funding issues and an "outdated" system of electoral law.

Overall, the Commission described the elections as well-run but highlighted a number of possible improvements.

Concerning abuse and intimidation towards candidates, the report acknowledged that a range of new actions were implemented in the run-up to the 2024 polls, including offering basic security to all candidates at the general election during the campaign.

"However, candidates and campaigners, and some electoral administrators, reported being subject to increased and unacceptable levels of abuse and intimidation online, on the campaign trail, at hustings, and at count venues", the Commission said.

According to the report, many candidates continued to experience "unacceptable" levels of intimidation and harassment, with 55% of candidates responding to a survey reporting problems with harassment, intimidation, or abuse, rating their problem a two or above on a one-to-five scale.

Overall, 70% of respondents experienced one of the scenarios at least once during the UK general election campaign, with a quarter (26%) of candidates experiencing four different types of harassment, intimidation or abuse at least once.

Most respondents (72%) said members of the public were behind the harassment, intimidation or threats, while 11% said other candidates were the source of abuse.

The Commission said that potential reforms could include ensuring that political parties include membership rules "that explicitly emphasise respect for other campaigners, and enable them to take appropriate action to sanction members if they are found to have abused or harassed another campaigner (for example removal of membership or deselection as a candidate)".

In addition, there should be penalties for those found guilty of criminal offences committed against candidates, campaigners, or elections staff to reflect the wider impact of attacks on the democratic process, the Commission said.

Protections for candidates and voters could also be improved to include extending the Welsh Government's approach and legislation protecting the home addresses of candidates acting as their own election agents to cover all UK elections, it added.

In addition, the report suggested considering, with police forces and returning officers, whether to establish secure zones where campaign activity would not be allowed around specific risk-assessed polling stations or count venues.

The Commission recommended that candidates receive clear information and guidance about how to access support, have a dedicated point of contact for candidates and campaigners to request support, and ensuring a longer-term stable funding arrangements for security support for candidates and elected representatives.

The report said that changes to the Elections Act were also problematic and contributed to the workload of administrators.

It said there was "a clear sense in the feedback we received that they 'got through it' despite these challenges, rather than having sufficient time and capacity and fully functioning operational resources to support them in running the poll.

"Broader local authority resilience remains a significant concern. It is reliant on a complex and fragmented funding framework, and underpinned by an outdated and increasingly complex system of electoral law."

The report meanwhile identified issues with the postal voting system, noting that in some circumstances some voters did not receive their postal ballot packs.

"Our analysis finds that there were no widespread, systemic issues with postal voting and that most people were satisfied with this method of voting", the report said.

However, the report concluded that postal voting systems "did not work well enough" for some voters in 2024.

"This meant that they did not receive their postal votes in time to complete and return them before polling day", it said.

"In a limited number of areas, this was because of errors or problems with suppliers.

"In other cases, voters did not understand when they should expect to receive their postal votes. This meant that they were not able to choose a different way of voting that would better suit their circumstances."

To tackle this, the Commission said information for voters on voting by post should be improved and that the deadline for postal vote applications should be reconsidered.

It said there should be flexible rules for reissuing postal votes to voters who have not received theirs so that they can be sent out sooner than the current deadline of four days before polling day.

The watchdog also said the system could be improved by allowing postal voters to cancel their postal vote or appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf if they have not received their postal vote in time to complete and return it before polling day.

Early voting was also proposed in the report, alongside a call to consider whether the funding available to support postal votes is enough.

Commenting on the findings, Vijay Rangarajan, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, said: "It is encouraging that UK voters retain high levels of confidence in the electoral system, and the vast majority had a positive experience of voting at the general election.

"However, that wasn't the case for everyone, with some postal and overseas voters unable to participate as they should. We will work with governments and others to improve the system."

Responding to the report, the Association of Electoral Administrators said that while digital application systems bring many benefits, "they are not yet working as they should for electoral administrators and have brought unintended consequences for some electors".

A spokesperson said: "We will work with the Electoral Commission to understand how best to increase awareness of accessibility support available for voters.

"These Elections Act measures have been somewhat overshadowed by voter ID. Election teams have worked hard to put them into place and want voters to know what is available to them. We would also welcome a review of how accessible the registration process is.

"Like the Commission, we are alarmed at rising levels of abuse and intimidation aimed at candidates and campaigners. We would highlight that Returning Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, electoral administrators and polling station staff are also affected. They deserve the same legal protections."

The Association also supported the call to address election funding is welcome, "particularly as local authorities are still faced with picking up the electoral registration bill for the spike caused by general elections".

It also called for work towards a 'simplified, modernised and consolidated election law' noting that a single Electoral Administration Act, "respecting devolved nation differences, is needed more than ever.

"This is especially important given Government manifesto pledges around automatic voter registration and votes at 16 before the end of this Parliament."

Adam Carey