To receive information from Kirsty Hunt, Service Lead – Electoral and Democratic Services.

Kirsty Hunt, Service Lead for Electoral and Democratic Services gave a presentation on the provisions that were being brought in by the UK government to make changes to the oversight of the Electoral Commission. Elements of the Elections Act 2022 were being introduced in various phases.

The two main issues that were relevant to the forum were improving accessibility at polling stations, and new voter ID requirements. There was a national campaign ongoing from central government to explain the new voter ID requirements. In addition, while there had been significant improvements in the voting experience for people with disabilities, there was still more to be done.

Photographic ID would be a requirement to vote at polling stations going forward. For those who didn’t have any form of photographic ID, a Voter Authority Certificate would be made available by applying through a central government website which would be launched in January 2023. In addition, outreach opportunities would be offered for any community groups who would struggle to use the internet to apply for the Voter Authority Certificate.

The regulations had always required returning officers (ROs) to provide certain devices such as chairs, magnifiers, large pencils and pencil grips. The Elections Act 2022 had not detailed specific requirements, but instead stated that reasonable adjustments would need to be made, including additional training for staff.

Kirsty Hunt asked if there were any particular issues that had been missed off with regards to making polling stations more accessible, and any ways that the experience could be improved.

Regarding polling place reviews, Kirsty Hunt explained that this looked at identifying suitable places and alternative venues to vote. The next review was due to start in October 2023, and it would be useful to ascertain any issues in existing venues in order to find remedies for these issues.

The Chair thanked Kirsty for the presentation and stated that postal voting would be a useful alternative for those who didn’t have voter ID.

Kirsty Hunt echoed these comments and stated that it was a matter of trying to strike a balance so that voting in person would be easy for all.

Peter Haley asked what would happen if someone arrived at a polling station to vote but had forgotten their ID.

Kirsty Hunt stated that voters would be encouraged to return home and collect their ID. Across the country, polling stations would be asked to keep a record of the volumes of people who didn’t bring ID with them. People would not be allowed to vote if they had forgotten their ID.

Lisa Hughes stated that she was pleased when reading through the Elections Act 2022 as previous acts had not included provisions for accessible voting. She stated that she lived in Furze Platt, and her previous polling place had been a Scout hut. There were multiple issues with this polling place, including parking and entering the front door, which could have been largely solved by staff awareness and training. In addition, people with learning disabilities and autistic people were probably less likely to have a form of Voter ID, so it was important to ensure that these people were able to participate.

Kirsty Hunt thanked Lisa Hughes for her comments and stated that training would be one of the key elements in making sure that everyone was prepared. With regards to any specific issues with polling stations, people could email Kirsty at Kirsty.Hunt@RBWM.gov.uk to feed these issues back into the elections team.

Councillor Price raised concerns with the polling place on Gratton Drive, St. Leonard’s Hill. The polling station was a portacabin on a private road with no lighting and poor condition of the road.

Kirsty Hunt explained that the team were always keen to hear of alternatives as portacabins were used in certain places if there were no good alternatives.

Wendy Allum, Electoral Services Team Leader stated that a full review occurred every five years, in which all venues were visited. Wendy Allum welcomed any suggestions for alternative venues.

Councillor Price asked if any of these visits occurred in the dark as this was a time when particular issues became more prominent.

Kirsty Hunt stated that the time of day that a venue was visited was crucial and welcomed any volunteers from the forum to attend visits as they may be able to highlight particular issues.

Victoria Holt stated that she was pleased to hear that people with carers were being supported. Victoria Holt explained that she worked with adults with a learning disability and additional physical disabilities, and asked Kirsty Hunt if she could share her details with Caroline Waites, a colleague who chaired the Advocacy People.

Sharon Bunce stated that she would be happy to attend any venue visits. In addition, she asked if the process for applying for a Voter Authority Certificate could be explained in more detail to the forum.

Kirsty Hunt stated that the programme to deliver this was running slightly behind schedule and was due to be launched in January 2023, after which she would be able to provide more detail.

Dominic Manley suggested that polling stations could be included in the AccessAble guides.

The Chair thanked Kirsty and Wendy for their time and welcomed them back to the March forum.