Written evidence from The Electoral Management Board for Scotland (RGE 19)

 

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee 

Review of the 2024 general election inquiry

 

 

Background

 

  1. The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) is appointed by the House of Commons to examine constitutional issues; the quality and standards of administration provided by Civil Service departments; and the reports of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).

 

  1. Following the publication of the Electoral Commission report on the general election 2024, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee are considering the issue of the administration, process and conduct of the 2024 general election and how these could be improved for future elections.

 

  1. The review opened on 3 December 2024 and the Committee has invited evidence on the following areas:

 

 

  1. This submission is provided by the Electoral Management Board for Scotland (EMB) with comment on those areas in the context of the planning, preparation and delivery of the UK Parliamentary General Election (UKPGE) in Scotland in 2024.  It is based on comments made by the 32 Returning Officer teams and 15 Electoral Registration Officer teams in Scotland in the weeks following the election and addresses the areas that the Committee has identified as of interest.

 

  1. While brief comment is made on all areas of interest to the Committee, the focus is on postal voting as the challenges around that area at the 2024 UKPGE for Scotland were the most significant that were faced.

 

  1. This is only a limited overview of the issues.  However, the EMB is grateful for the opportunity to provide this material to the Committee and would be happy to expand on and develop any of these points either in person or in writing should that be helpful to the Committee.

 

  1. The context for this submission is the general objective of the Board: “to deliver a result that will be trusted as accurate.”  Confidence in the result is fundamental to the democratic process and is predicated on confidence in all stages of the process of planning and delivering an electoral event.  Ultimately, the EMB’s primary focus is ensuring that the interests of the voter are kept at the centre of all election planning and administration. 

 

The 2024 UK Parliamentary General Election – the context in Scotland

 

  1. As noted in the Electoral Commission’s report, “overall, the elections were well-run, and voters continue to have high levels of confidence and satisfaction in the polls.”  Generally the EMB supports and endorses the conclusions and recommendations of the Electoral Commission in their report on this event. However, there were significant challenges as noted by the Electoral Commission, many of which, for particular reasons, were acutely experienced in Scotland.

 

  1. On Wednesday 22 May 2024, the Prime Minister announced that he had requested permission from the King to dissolve parliament; a general election was to be held on Thursday 4 July.  Parliament was prorogued on Friday 24 May and dissolved on Thursday 30 May

 

  1. From the date of the Prime Minister’s announcement to polling day was a period of 42 calendar days / 30 working days.  Electoral administrators had well-established delivery plans but the timing coincided with start of the majority of Scottish school holidays, which come earlier than in the rest of Great Britain. This, as noted below, added to the pressures of an already short timetable.

 

  1. The Elections Act 2022 introduced a range of new rules to UK elections, including photographic Voter ID, postal vote handling restrictions and the addition of more overseas voters.  Most of these had applied to polls in England in 2023 but the 2024 UKPGE would be the first Election in Scotland at which these new rules and related operational procedures would be implemented.  These added the burden of additional staff training, new processes and public awareness activity onto the usual pressures of this election.

 

  1. The ERO community across the UK in the lead up to this election was also facing a new IT infrastructure with a UK Government portal allowing online registration and absent vote application for reserved polls.  This had its own challenges in terms of the volume of applications received, duplication with paper applications and difficulties in planning workflow.  Some elements of the system were changing in the months leading up to the poll giving little chance for new processes to bed in and for problems to be resolved.

 

  1. There has been a significant growth in the number of postal voters over recent years, driven in large part by the Covid pandemic.  In Scotland around 25% of the electorate now choose to have a postal vote, with this proportion being even higher in certain, particularly rural and island constituencies.  The timing of this poll in the school holidays in Scotland prompted further applications once the date of poll was announced.  The timetable for postal votes is always tight but was to prove particularly challenging at this election.

 

  1. RO and ERO teams are now dealing with a concentration of suppliers for the fundamental support infrastructure especially around printing, with one supplier covering around 80% of poll cards/postal votes/ballot papers for Scotland.  There are now few print suppliers with the capacity and expertise to produce the materials needed for elections, especially the complex postal vote packs which need to be produced in bulk, to secure standards and to very tight deadlines.  Any print production difficulties therefore put significant volumes of postal votes at risk of delayed delivery.

 

  1. The 2024 UKPGE was contested on new constituency boundaries.  These introduced a further set of challenges for electoral administrators and EROs as many of the new constituencies extended across council boundaries so that new protocols needed to be established between neighbouring RO and ERO teams.

 

  1. The challenges faced in Scotland need to be seen in a particular context with a number of factors at play, some of which were unique to Scotland, including

 

 

Postal Voting

 

  1. For the 2024 UKPGE there was an electorate of 4,078,398 across the 57 UK Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland.  997,891 (24%) of these electors were postal voters, an increase of over a third (269,743) since the last UKPGE in 2019.

 

  1. The first issue of postal votes was made on Tuesday 18 / Wednesday 19 June.  This was to those who had been registered as postal voters well ahead of the election.  The second issue of postal votes was due to follow for most on Wednesday 26 June.  This was for those postal voters who had requested a postal vote closer to the election, often only after the poll had been announced.

 

  1. The weekend commencing on Friday 28 June, saw many council areas across Scotland start their school holidays. 

 

  1. Due to production problems significant numbers of this second issue of postal packs were delayed until Saturday 29 June when many electors had already left or were leaving for holidays. Some did not land with electors until the Monday or Tuesday of the week of the election.
  2. The problems with printing leading to the delay in dispatch and delivery were limited to one supplier which supported the majority of Scotland’s councils, with production at a single site in England.  A production breakdown led to delays in the issue of postal votes.

 

  1. There were also reports of delivery problems across Scotland through Royal Mail.  Production delays meant that some transport slots between England and Scotland were missed.  More remote areas and islands were particularly affected due to the complex logistics and delivery connections.  Unreliable and inconsistent delivery by Royal Mail was reported in many areas of Scotland, although Royal Mail did not identify any problems when they were challenged on this.

 

  1. As soon as problems with the second issue were apparent, steps were taken by local Returning Officers and the EMB to communicate with voters through a range of media channels to explain the position and to facilitate the provision of replacement postal packs.  The EMB media statement ,made at the time remains on its website.

 

  1. Some ROs set up emergency “drop-in” facilities from Friday 28 June for voters to obtain a replacement postal vote pack.  (For example reported on the BBC) These were particularly used by voters who were about to leave on holiday and were yet to receive their ballot papers. Some ROs were not able to offer this service as widely as others due to lack of volumes of spare postal ballot packs for replacements and geographical difficulties in large and rural authority areas.  In other areas where there were not significant issues ROs did not consider such facilities as necessary

 

  1. The EMB, the UK Government and the Electoral Commission established a small team to work with the print supplier and the Royal Mail to expedite the production, dispatch, transport and delivery of the final postal packs.   Royal Mail arranged a number of special logistical arrangements which were crucial in ensuring that ballot packs arrived with voters with minimal delay.

 

  1. The EMB has undertaken debrief exercises with administrators, EROs, associated stakeholders and suppliers and this review work is continuing with the aim of identifying in full the complexity of factors that contributed to the problems in June/July of 2024 and proposing solutions. The debrief exercises were clear that the election was already a high pressure and high-risk process undertaken to a very tight timescale in the context of limited capacity even before factoring in additional and specific problems with late applications and print delay.  It is clear that the system is fragile.

 

  1. Overall the EMB note several issues that contributed to the problems. These included:

 

 

  1. While there were significantly more replacements made for lost/undelivered postal votes than has been the experience at recent elections, candidates/election agents and political parties did not raise a significant number of concerns.  The actual turnout of postal voters was not significantly lower than would normally be expected.

 

  1. An associated issue was experienced with respect to overseas voters.  It is unusual for postal votes to reach overseas voters in time for them to participate in the election.  This is true even for votes dispatched early in the first issue.  There was an increase in numbers of overseas voters following the franchise change for this election and many complained that their postal pack did not arrive at all or arrived too late for them to return it.  Postal votes are simply not a reliable method of voting for overseas electors.

 

  1. RO and ERO teams across Scotland made observations in the face of these problems. 

 

 

  1. In summary, there were problems with delayed delivery of postal votes reported by voters, ROs and EROs across Scotland for a range of reasons. The impact was not believed to have been major – the postal vote turnout was generally of an order that would be expected – but the problems did reflect ongoing issues with capacity and timetables, and caused additional work for electoral administrators.  National print capacity is limited to deliver the volume of postal votes that are now required.  Any failure of production has a massive impact.

 

  1. Across the UK, printers found it extremely difficult to meet the UKPGE printing volumes within the 25- working day timetable. This was exacerbated in Scotland due to the holiday pressures and the concentration of supply.  The timetable issues, volumes, and capacity issues must be addressed as the whole system is increasingly fragile.

 

  1. With respect to the timetable, the EMB agrees with the comments by the AEA in their post-poll letter to the Deputy Prime Minister

 

The ‘snap’ nature of UKPGEs means little can be prepared in advance and the timetable allows no room for error. Ballot papers can only be printed after nominations close, 19 working days before polling day. However, electors can apply for a postal vote in Great Britain up to 11 working days before. The later the application, the shorter the time to process, print, deliver and return postal vote packs.

 

  1. On 27 February the EMB is holding a Round Table event with UK Government, Scottish Government, ROs, EROs, print suppliers and other stakeholders to review all elements of the postal vote and print situation for elections in Scotland.  The aim is to:

 

 

  1. The EMB would be happy to share the papers and outcomes of this event with the Committee if that would be helpful.

 

Other areas of interest to the Committee

 

  1. In addition to postal voting, the Committee has asked for comment on other areas:  the requirement for photographic identification at the polling station; overseas voters; measures in place to prevent and tackle abuse and intimidation of candidates; and the voter registration processes.

 

Photographic Identification

 

  1. The EMB noted few issues with the requirement for photo ID for voters attending a polling station.  The EMB had made significant preparation for this new requirement, with sessions at a special conference for the Scottish Returning Officers in October 2023 and organising teams from Scottish Councils to visit polls in May 2023 in England to observe and learn from colleagues south of the border. 

 

  1. Voter ID did not cause any significant issues, but as noted in the Electoral Commission report there were a few voters who were turned away for lack of suitable ID who did not return. 

 

  1. There is a continuing concern around the legal rules for elections.  The legislation that governs elections is piece-meal, fragmented, much-amended and sometimes out-dated.  The grafting-on of voter ID provisions aggravated this long-standing problem.  There is and has long been a need for revised and consolidated elections legislation giving consistency across all polls as was recommended by the Law Commissions’ report into Electoral Law in 2020.

 

 

 

Overseas Voters

 

  1. As noted above, the election timetable causes particular issues for overseas postal voters who need as much time as possible to receive and return their ballot paper.  For most overseas electors a postal vote is not a practical option.   There is insufficient time for it to be produced, dispatched and returned ahead of polling day. 

 

  1. The expansion of the overseas franchise in January 2024 saw many new overseas electors able to be added to the Register who reported that they have no one in the UK to nominate as a proxy. Our current system does not work for these electors as there is no other option for them but a postal vote that will probably not arrive.

 

  1. Returning Officers had to deal with many complaints from such voters demanding an option to vote that simply did not exist in law.

 

  1. At the least, there needs to be much more clear communication to such voters to explain the implications of the timetable.

 

  1. We would also refer to the response submitted by the Electoral Registration Committee of the Scottish Assessors Association on this area which gives more detail on the challenges faced by EROs in handling overseas voters.

 

Measures in place to prevent and tackle abuse and intimidation of candidates

 

  1. The EMB has no comment with respect to this area of the Committee’s work.  The concern of the EMB, the ROs and EROs is the delivery of the election according to the rules for the voter.  While the security of candidates is important and is vital to giving all voters a full and fair choice, this area is beyond our remit.

 

Voter Registration

 

  1. As noted above the 2024 UKPGE was the first such election where postal and proxy vote applications could be made online.  This digital system has benefits, but it also produced a number of unintended issues.  These are well covered in the letter produced by the AEA on 18 July 2024.  A separate submission is being made by the Electoral Registration Committee of the Scottish Assessors Association, which represents the EROs in Scotland and this adds detail across areas of concern with respect to electoral registration in Scotland at the 2024 UKPGE.

 

The Electoral Management Board for Scotland

 

  1. The Electoral Management Board for Scotland (EMB) was established by the Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Act 2011. This Act gave the Board “the general function of co-ordinating the administration of local government elections in Scotland.”  The Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 extended the remit of the Board to cover elections to the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill which was passed without opposition in the Scottish Parliament on 17 December 2024 established the Electoral Management Board for Scotland as a body corporate which will report to and be funded by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.

 

  1. The EMB is independent of both Scottish and UK Governments and political parties and is accountable to the Scottish Parliament.  The Convener is appointed by Ministers and leads a Board consisting of Returning Officers, their Deputes and Electoral Registration Officers.

 

  1. Advisors include the professional associations: the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA), the Electoral Registration Committee of the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA), the Elections Working Group of the Society of Local Authority Lawyers & Administrators in Scotland (SOLAR), and Scottish and UK Governments, and the Electoral Commission.

 

  1. The EMB’s prime focus is ensuring that the interests of the voter are kept at the centre of all election planning and administration. The work of the EMB assumes the close community of electoral professionals in Scotland and accordingly the Board seeks to operate by consensus rather than formal direction, wherever possible. However, the Convener does have a power to issue directions to Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers in relation to their duties around Scottish Parliament and Local Government elections as required, and this power has been exercised in recent elections with the consent and wish of the electoral community.

 

  1. The EMB has assisted in the coordination of the work of ROs and EROs in the delivery of European Parliamentary Elections, UK Parliamentary General Elections, Scottish Parliament Elections, Scottish Local Government Elections and UK and Scottish Referendums.  Where the Convener does not have a legal power of direction the Board has made recommendations to achieve consistency and support adequate contingency planning across the country.  Since its creation, the EMB has had an increasingly important role in promoting a consistent delivery approach, acting as a single point of contact for stakeholders and providing a source of professional expertise and support to the electoral community. 

 

The EMB’s role with respect to UK Parliamentary Elections

 

  1. The EMB welcomes the opportunity to provide evidence to the Committee to support its review.  While the EMB has no statutory function with respect to reserved elections its position in the electoral infrastructure of Scotland is such that it has an informal role in the oversight of UK elections.  The EMB works to coordinate the work of ROs and EROs across Scotland making recommendations such that there is consistency in key voter facing elements of the election.  The recommendations made by the Convener ahead of the UK Parliamentary General Election in 2024 are provided in the appendices.

 

 

 

The EMB’s Role, Objective, Principles and Approach

 

  1. The EMB’s “general function of co-ordinating the administration of local government and Scottish Parliament elections” involves two specific roles:

 

(a) assisting local authorities and other persons in carrying out their functions in relation to local government elections; and

(b) promoting best practice in local government elections by providing information, advice or training (or otherwise).

 

  1. The over-riding goal is to ensure that the interests of the voter are kept at the centre of all election planning, delivery and administration.

 

  1. With respect to specific electoral events this function translates into a single clear objective: “….to deliver a result that will be trusted as accurate.”  The currency of elections is trust. Confidence in the result is fundamental to the democratic process and is predicated on confidence in all stages of the process of planning and delivering an electoral event.

 

  1. The EMB shapes its work around four key principles:

 

•                                                                                               Accessibility - there should be no barriers to any voter taking part;

•                     Consistency - voters should have the same experience wherever they are in Scotland;

•                                                                                               Efficiency - electoral events will be administered efficiently; and

•                                                                                               Integrity - electoral events will produce results that are accepted as accurate.

 

  1. The Board has the privilege of supporting a close and mutually supportive community of electoral professionals in Scotland. The preferred approach is always to operate through a progression of consensus where possible, guidance where helpful and direction if necessary. 

 

 

January 2025

 


APPENDIX 1: UK PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION (UKPGE), 4 JULY 2024

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CONVENER OF THE EMB Made by email on 24 May 2024

 

 

FOR THE ATTENTION OF ALL RETURNING OFFICERS, ELECTORAL REGISTRATION OFFICERS AND THEIR STAFF

 

For reserved polls such as the UKPGE in which the Convener of the EMB has no power to issue Directions, the practice has been for a set of Recommendations to be made, to assist in achieving consistency in the voter-facing elements of Elections and to support effective contingency measures.

 

For the UK Parliamentary General Election on 4 July the timetable is very tight indeed, and to support ROs and EROs and to promote consistency wherever possible, primarily around key dates, I propose to make the recommendations below. Consistency of dates allows an effective public awareness campaign to be undertaken, aligned with these agreed dates.

 

Following discussion with the ERO representatives on the EMB and engagement with print suppliers I therefore recommend the following:

 

 

*traditionally we recommend/direct a two-day window for dispatch of poll cards/postal packs to give some tolerance for printer and delivery schedules.

 

For the publication of the Notice of Election I am recommending a date of Friday 31 May.  The Notice of Election must be published no later than 4pm on Tuesday 4 June 2024. However, Returning Officers can publish the Notice of Election immediately following receipt of the writ, on the same day, 31 May.    Nominations can only be received between 10am and 4pm on any working day after the publication of the Notice of Election.  Publishing the Notice of Election on Friday 31 May will allow nominations to be received from 10 am on Monday 3 June until 4pm on Friday 7 June, giving the maximum possible period for receiving nominations, which may reduce pressure on RO teams and on candidates.  This remains a recommendation but is a date on which consistency would be helpful across Scotland to avoid unhelpful comparisons among ROs being made by candidates.  In any event the Notice of Election should be published no later than Monday 3 June. 

 

In terms of subscribers, the Register that the RO should use for checking will be the June Register, which is the Register in force on the last day for publication of the Notice of Election. With nominations being taken from Monday 3 June ROs will need to confirm with their ERO that they have access to the June update at that point. 

 

With respect to a date for the Second Interim Election Notice of Alteration (SIENA), 25 June would allow the maximum number of electors to be included in the final issue of poll cards.  EROs would then take a view on whether they wished to upload data from 19 June (start of the objection period).   These dates should all be achievable for ROs, EROs and printers and other contractors, and would produce consistency across Scotland.

 

I have already issued recommendations with respect to basic accessibility measures that should be applied for this Election.   

 

The EMB will meet next week with a focus on the delivery of the 4 July polls.   If you have any issues which you wish to have discussed in that meeting please raise them as soon as possible with Chris Highcock, Secretary of the EMB.   He, the Board and I will aim to support and assist you with any issue in the coming six weeks.   Despite the short timescale I am confident that the close and supportive community of ROs and EROs will deliver sound and trustworthy elections with results in which there can be full confidence.

 

With best wishes for the coming six weeks

 

Malcolm

 

MALCOLM BURR

Convener of the Electoral Management Board for Scotland

 

APPENDIX 2: UK PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION (UKPGE), 4 JULY 2024

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CONVENER OF THE EMB Made by email on 31 May 2024

 

FOR THE ATTENTION OF ALL ROs, EROs AND THEIR TEAMS

 

UKPGE 2024: FURTHER RECOMMENDATION FROM THE CONVENER OF THE EMB - ABSENT VOTE DETERMINATION DEADLINE

 

Following discussion of this matter at the meeting of the EMB on 30 May 2024 and a reflection on the experience at the recent elections in England and Wales on 2 May, the Convener of the EMB is making a recommendation.

 

The law is silent on a determination deadline for absent votes, which is different from the position regarding registration applications.    The Electoral Commission guidance on this matter states:

 

“If an elector applying for a postal vote close to the deadline for a poll fails the DWP check, their application can be determined using the exceptions or attestation process up to and including polling day. However, whilst the processing of applications is the responsibility of the ERO, the RO is responsible for the issuing of postal ballot packs and producing polling station registers. You should liaise with the RO (where you are not also the RO) to establish the latest practicable point for determination of postal vote applications for that poll so they can plan the subsequent issuing of overseas and domestic postal votes and produce complete and accurate polling station registers.”

 

Practicable could be interpreted to mean different time points and it is understood that for the elections on 2 May there were a variety of interpretations made including: 5pm six working days before the poll ; the point at which polling station registers were printed; the point at which ballot boxes were collected/dispatch to polling places;  5pm on the day before polling day when presiding officers could still be contacted and late amendments made to polling registers; and up until 10pm on polling day. 

 

 While it is always our wish to apply the general principle that the interests of the voter must be upheld and where possible preferred, that must be balanced against the practical constraints of making very late changes to polling registers and communicating such changes, and the potential risk to integrity were the postal vote be granted at a point on polling day by which the voter could already then have voted in person.  Indeed, it would generally be simpler for a voter to go to their polling station on polling day rather than attending the RO’s office to be issued with a postal vote pack to be completed and handed back immediately, which would not be consistent with the definition of an “absent” vote.

 

 The EMB’s view on this matter and the recommendation of the Convener is that:

 

  1. There should if at all possible be consistency of approach across Scotland and certainly within a constituency; and
  2. The deadline for the determination of absent votes by the ERO should be no later than 12 noon the day before the poll;  this would allow time for the RO to make and communicate any changes to the polling register before polling begins.

 

It should be noted that this approach applies to both postal and proxy votes.  For electors trying to appoint a proxy just before the deadline, where their identification verification fails, they will also need sufficient opportunity to provide documentary evidence or an attestation.  Emergency proxy applications are not affected as they are not subject to identity verification.  

 

Usual practice should continue in that EROs should continue to determine absent vote applications as soon as possible following receipt of sufficient information to allow determination.  Applications should be determined on an ongoing basis with details and associated images sent to the RO on a daily basis; this recommendation concerns those few that remain undetermined close to the end of the timetable.  Any absent vote applications not determined by noon the day before the poll should be determined based on the information in the possession of the ERO at that time.  The ERO should as soon as practicable after the final absent vote has been determined produce the final postal and proxies voter lists as required under S61(6) of the RoP(S) Regs 2001.  RO’s should, as always, ensure that reasonable arrangements are in place to allow an elector to receive/collect any postal vote pack.

 

I hope that this advice is helpful; as ever if there are issues of clarity where further explanation would be helpful, please do not hesitate to contact either the Convener or me directly.

 

Regards

 

Chris Highcock

Secretary to the EMB c/o 

City of Edinburgh Council Elections Office

 

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