The Electoral Commission is a public body established on 30 November 2000 under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 ( PPERA ). The Commission is independent of Government, non-partisan and directly accountable to Parliament. One of the Commission's aims is to encourage participation in the democratic process, and increase levels of electoral registration and voting.
As a result of measures introduced by PPERA, the Commission has a statutory duty to evaluate any pilot electoral scheme approved by the Government.
In accordance with the requirements of the Representation of the People Act ( RPA ) 2000, the Commission’s evaluations will include a description of the scheme and an assessment as to:
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The scheme's success or otherwise in facilitating voting or the counting of votes, or in encouraging voting or enabling voters to make informed choices at the elections;
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Whether the turnout of voters was higher than it would have been if the scheme had not applied;
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Whether voters found the procedures provided for their assistance by the scheme easy to use;
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Whether the procedures provided for by the scheme led to any increase in impersonation or other electoral offences, or in any other malpractice in connection swith elections;
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Whether those procedures led to any increase in expenditure, or to any savings, by the authority.
In addition to these statutory requirements, the Commission’s evaluations will consider, where appropriate:
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The extent to which the pilot facilitated or otherwise encouraged participation among particular communities, including young people, ethnic minority groups and people with disabilities;
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Overall levels of user awareness and comprehension of the voting method being tested, including an assessment of the effectiveness of any literature or other materials used in the promotion of the pilot;
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The attitudes and opinions of key stakeholders, including voters, with a view to determining overall levels of confidence in the voting method being tested;
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Whether the pilot resulted in measurable improvements, or had any adverse impact, with respect to the provision of more efficient and effective service delivery to voters;
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Whether the pilot resulted in measurable improvements to, or had any adverse impact on, the existing system of electoral administration; and
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Whether the pilot represented good ‘value for money’.
Where appropriate, the Commission will also make recommendations as to whether changes should be made to electoral arrangements more widely through roll-out of the pilot.
The Commission is required to submit its evaluation reports to the Secretary of State and the local authorities concerned. The local authorities are required to publish the evaluation report for their area within three months of the election.
In preparing this report, the Commission has drawn on its own observation and assessment of the pilot scheme. The Commission has also published an overarching report commenting on the full range of electoral pilot schemes which took place at the spring 2003 local elections in England. The Commission’s report is available to read at:
The Electoral Commission is grateful to the Returning Officer and all those in the authority, political parties and the local community who provided information and assistance during the evaluation process.