News In Focus
29 November 2007
Commission calls for overhaul of voting laws
The Electoral Commission has called for an overhaul of the laws governing elections, which could see the end of overnight vote counting.
The Commission says that existing laws are antiquated and inconsistent throughout the UK. Commenting on May's Scottish elections, independent Canadian elections expert Ron Gould said elections in the future should be controlled by one authority in Scotland.
The Commission echoes Mr Gould's call for all those with a role in organising future elections to put the voters' interests first. It agrees that:
- future Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections should not take place on the same day;
- electoral legislation should be consolidated and there should be a six month cut-off for new legislation before an election;
- at future Scottish Parliament elections, the regional ballot paper should be printed on a separate sheet from the constituency ballot paper.
In addition, the Commission plans to set standards for the accessibility, design and usability of ballot papers, to recommend changes to the rules on party descriptions on ballot papers after it has finished consulting with political parties in January 2008, and to look at the introduction of advance voting facilities.
The Commission has also announced that it will be conducting a detailed examination of electoral administration structures, and will consider how the options set out in the Gould report, for example for a chief returning officer, might work in Scotland and in other parts of the UK.
Electoral commissioner Sir Neil McIntosh said: "The Commission welcomes the recommendations put forward by Mr Gould and we will be taking a lead in working towards solutions. We will be bringing together all those involved in elections to consider ways that we can improve electoral administration. It is vital that the voter comes first."