Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to help UK citizens living abroad to cast votes more easily in elections and referendums within the short timeframes for such ballots; and what assessment they have made of whether electronic voting may provide a safe means of those citizens casting votes.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government, in the 2010-15 Parliament, legislated to make it easier for overseas electors to vote by post at elections and referendums in the UK. The electoral timetable was lengthened and the restriction on issuing postal votes ahead of the postal vote application deadline removed.
We continue to keep under review the practical operation of the postal voting process and meet with electoral administrators and their suppliers to identify ways to provide a more effective service, including expediting the delivery of postal votes to overseas electors.
The Government currently has no plans to make provision for electronic voting and committed in its 2017 manifesto to retain the traditional method of voting by pencil and paper.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of hereditary peer by-elections on the reputation of democratic principles in the UK; and whether they intend to support legislation to enable Parliament to end such elections.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The system of by-elections for the excepted hereditary peers is an internal matter for the House of Lords. The Government has made clear through its manifesto that comprehensive reform of the House of Lords is not a legislative priority for this Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes there have been to the population eligible to vote in General Elections in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland, between 1 December 2015 and 3 May 2018.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Information regarding the total number of registered electors is not held centrally by the Government as each local authority maintains their own local register. Full registration statistics are accessible from the Office for National Statistics website (www.ons.gov.uk) including Parliamentary elector statistics for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide funding for, and ask the Electoral Commission to undertake, a representative survey of people who voted by post in the 2018 local elections so as to obtain an indication as to how many of them may not have cast the vote themselves, or without proper conditions of privacy in keeping with the spirit of the Ballot Act 1872.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government believes that electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level and is taking steps to ensure our elections are even more secure. At the 2018 local elections a number of local authorities volunteered to conduct Voter ID pilots to ensure that voters provided a form of identification before voting.
The Electoral Commission will produce its own reports on the 2018 polls and will collate information on allegations of electoral fraud. The Government has no plans to ask the Electoral Commission to conduct an additional survey.
Three further areas, Tower Hamlets Peterborough Slough undertook postal vote pilots looking at the security of postal votes. The Cabinet Office and Electoral Commission will undertake detailed evaluation of the pilots.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide funding for, and ask the Electoral Commission to undertake, a representative survey of people taken from the marked registers showing that a vote had been cast in their name at a polling station in the 2018 local elections so as to obtain an indication as to how many of them did not vote, but had a vote claimed by another person who attended the polling station.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government believes that electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level and is taking steps to ensure our elections are even more secure. At the 2018 local elections a number of local authorities volunteered to conduct Voter ID pilots to ensure that voters provided a form of identification before voting.
The Electoral Commission will produce its own reports on the 2018 polls and will collate information on allegations of electoral fraud. The Government has no plans to ask the Electoral Commission to conduct an additional survey.
Three further areas, Tower Hamlets Peterborough Slough undertook postal vote pilots looking at the security of postal votes. The Cabinet Office and Electoral Commission will undertake detailed evaluation of the pilots.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to contact Returning Officers responsible for the General Election in 2017 in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland, to ask how many tendered ballot papers were issued as a result of people turning up to a polling station to find that their vote had already been cast; and whether they will do so before 8 June when such lists will be destroyed.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government has no plans to ask Returning Officers to provide this information. It is for the Returning Officers to ensure they run free and fair elections. It is open to candidates, parties and accredited observers to scrutinise polls and raise any issues. Whilst details of tendered ballot papers issues are recorded at each polling station, numbers are not totalled and there is no requirement to record this number.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to contact Returning Officers responsible for the conduct of the local elections in England in 2018 to ask how many tendered ballot papers were issued as a result of people turning up to a polling station to find that their vote had already been cast.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government has no plans to ask Returning Officers to provide this information. It is for the Returning Officers to ensure they run free and fair elections. It is open to candidates, parties and accredited observers to scrutinise polls and raise any issues. Whilst details of tendered ballot papers issues are recorded at each polling station, numbers are not totalled and there is no requirement to record this number.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many allegations of personation or attempted personation in the 2018 local elections in England have been reported to the police.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Electoral Commission collates information on allegations of electoral fraud at elections and in due course will publish a report covering polls held in 2018.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their plans to allow local council candidates to avoid their home addresses being disclosed on official notices and ballot papers will be optional; and whether candidates not wishing to state their home address will be given the alternative of stating in which local government ward they reside, similar to the provisions for parliamentary candidates.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government is committed to removing the requirement for candidates standing as local councillors to have their home addresses published on the ballot paper. This requirement will be replaced with an option to include a statement of residence based on an electoral area the candidate lives in rather than having to include a specific address, in line with the provisions in place for candidates at UK parliamentary elections. We are currently working through the detail in discussion with relevant stakeholders, including what level of location information is appropriate, and how the provisions will be implemented in practice.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what basis the impact assessment for the Representation of the People (Amendment) Regulations 2018 estimated that the number of GPs who will make a charge for attesting to the needs for anonymous registration would be 10 per cent; and what the level of those charges will be.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The British Medical Association’s guidance recommends GPs charge between £30-£63 for this type of service, and that they consider any ethical implications of their work prior to charging for it. Given the nature of this service, for the purpose of the impact assessment we assumed a small minority (10%) of GPs to charge for an attestation, and those that do charge will do so at the lower end of the suggested range.
Should an elector experience difficulties with obtaining an attestations from a GP, other avenues remain open for them to seek attestations without charge.