Election Management - The UK Electoral Commission’s Experience

Peter Wardle Chief ExecutiveUnited Kingdom Electoral Commission

Electoral System SeminarPlitvice, Croatia

29 June 2007

The UK Electoral Commission

History • 1998 – UK’s Committee on Standards in Public Life report

• Public concern about party funding

• Recommended:

– new controls on party finances– an independent ‘Elections Commission’ to

regulate political finance

• 2007 – further report from Committee on progress to date

UK Electoral Commission

• Established by Parliament in 2000

• Reports direct to Parliament

• Budget voted by Committee chaired by Speaker of House of Commons

Key Responsibilities of the Electoral Commission

• Maintains register of political parties• Regulates rules on political finance

• Provides guidance, and sets standards of performance, for:– managing the electoral roll– managing elections

• NB in the UK the electoral roll and elections themselves are managed by independent local officials, not by the Electoral Commission

• Reports on the conduct of elections

• Provides public information on voter registration and voting

Electoral Commissioners

• 6 Commissioners

• Non-partisan: no political party activity during last 10 years

• Appointed through open competition, with high security of tenure

• Current Commissioners’ experience:– 2 from broadcasting– 2 from local government– 1 from regulation and community

involvement– 1 vacancy (previously an academic lawyer)

Relations with political parties

• Statutory “Parliamentary Parties Panel” for liaison between Commission and political parties

• Current debate about adding ex-political figures to Commission (6 non-party including Chair, 4 party?)

• Pros and cons of ex-political figures on Commission

Relations with Government

• Independent from Government

• Statutory right to be consulted on key elections legislation – views published

• Can support or criticise Government actions – key accountability is to Parliament not Government

Key Facts • Annual budget:– £24 million – (€36 million, HRK 261 million)

• 150 staff

Budget by Objectives

£ million, 2006-07

Public Information

Elections Management

Political Finance

Other

Political Finance

Main controls on political finance - income

• Permissible donors to political parties – UK individuals & companies, no foreign donations

• National & local donations above £5,000 – (€7,400/HRK 54,000)

• Parties must report these quarterly to the Electoral Commission (weekly in run-up to UK Parliament election)

• Reports are checked & published

Main controls on political finance - expenditure

• Limits on campaign expenditure:– local candidates - £10-12,000 per candidate

• (€5-18,000/HRK 110-130,000)

– national parties - almost £20 million per major party in the year up to a UK Parliament election

• (€30 million/HRK 215 million)

• Candidate campaign expenditure reported to local election officials

• Party campaign expenditure reported to Electoral Commission, checked & published after each major election

Main controls on political finance - other

• Political parties’ accounts reported to the Electoral Commission & published each year

• Third parties – similar rules on registration and campaign spending

Current Issues: Political Finance

• Sanctions – criminal/adminstrative?

• New limits on income (donations)

• Lower limits on expenditure

• Expansion of state funding?

• Electronic reporting?

Elections Management

Elections Management

• Parliament and Government set the legal framework

• Local elections management officials administer electoral registration and manage elections

• Electoral Commission provides guidance, sets performance standards, and reports on conduct of major elections

Guidance for elections managers

Training material for poll staff

Current Issues: Elections Management

• Registration system

• Modernisation

• Complexity

Public Information

Election Systems in the UK

• UK Parliament (Westminster) - First Past the Post

• European Parliament - regional list, pure D’Hondt proportional system

• Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly - Additional Member System (AMS)

• Northern Ireland Assembly – Single Transferable Vote

• Scotland and Northern Ireland local government - Single Transferable Vote

• Wales local government – First Past the Post

• London Assembly – Additional Member System, modified D’Hondt formula

• Mayor of London - Supplementary Vote system (or FPTP if there are only two candidates)

• English local government – First Past the Post

% turnoutat UK Parliamentary elections:1959-2005

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1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 1975 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005

Public Information

First Steps

• Show the relevance of politics to everyday life

• Demonstrate the connection between issues people care about and voting

• Encourage turnout

UK Parliamentary Election 2005

Campaign Objectives

• Awareness of the election

• How politics affects voters’ everyday lives

• Encourage participation in the political process including:– voting

– discussing politics

– paying attention to politics in the media

2005

“If you don’t do politics…”

Public Information

Current approach

• Stronger focus for Electoral Commission on:– Regulation of political finance

– Setting standards for well-run elections

• Also– New responsibilty for local elections

managers to promote public awareness

– Recognising what others do better than us

2007 Elections

Campaign Objectives

• Increase the number of eligible people registered to vote

• Increase awareness and understanding of registration, voting systems and elections

Target Audiences

• Young people & students

• Homemovers and renters

• Military personnel

• Voters resident in other countries

• Minority ethnic groups

• Elections managers

2007

“If you want to vote, make sure nothing stops you”

Key results • Over 10,000 calls to the call centre (6,000 in 2006)

• Around 186,000 visits to website (www.aboutmyvote.co.uk) (140,000 in 2006)

• 63,000 registration forms downloaded from website (31,000 in 2006)

• Reached up to 21 million users on top UK websites

Summary • Constitutional position of Electoral Commission

• Role of Electoral Commission

• Issues in political finance and elections management

• Public information

Key Issues • Electoral Commission – independent or political?

• Appropriate and effective sanctions for breaking political finance rules?

• Sources of funding for political parties?

• Administer elections directly or oversee others?

• Public information role?

Thank You

Peter Wardle

pwardle@electoralcommission.org.uk

www.electoralcommission.org.uk