The majority of voters (88%) thought the local elections in England and Northern Ireland were well-run, according to a new report from the Electoral Commission.
However, the Commission did identify some problems with the May 2014 local and European Parliamentary elections such as ‘unacceptable campaigner behaviour’ at Tower Hamlets and issues with descriptions on ballot papers leading to voter confusion.
It also said there were fewer allegations of electoral fraud than in previous polls, but warned millions of people were still missing from the electoral register.
Jenny Watson, chair of the Electoral Commission, said: ‘Overall these elections were well run and elections staff should be congratulated for this success.
'There were some problems, however, and the challenge now across the UK is to ensure that we all learn from these ahead of the UK Parliamentary General Election, where higher turnout and closely fought contests will bring increased scrutiny of election processes. Our forthcoming guidance for both electoral administrators, and parties and candidates, will be clear about what more needs to be done.’
The Commission is calling for action to be taken ahead of future elections, including:
- The Government should explore if it possible to remove the legal requirement to delay counting until after all ballot box contents have been verified, without compromising important audit and accuracy checks
- Political parties and campaigners should agree not to handle completed postal vote applications or postal ballot packs
- The Government should consider changing the current rules around the use of party descriptions on ballot papers
