Clause 19 - Review of polling places
Electoral Administration Bill
4:00 pm
David Heath (Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs & Shadow Leader of the House, Law Officers (Constitutional Affairs); Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 3, in clause 19, page 18, line 36, at end insert
', except that such a notice may not be made in the period of three months before an eletion the date of which is prescribed.'.
Following this morning's correction, and to avoid any confusion, the word in the second line, which reads ''eletion'', is not supposed to be ''deletion'', ''delectation'' or ''electrification'' but ''election''. That is what was intended.
I have some general points to make about clause 19, which deals with the review of polling places, and a precise point, which is made by amendment No. 3, that it is not only inconvenient but inconsiderate to the electorate to make alterations to polling districts in the weeks immediately preceding an election whose date we know.
We generally have our suspicions about when a general election is likely to be called, but it can be called at any time, so no statutory protection can be given before it is held. We do, however, know perfectly well when municipal elections, European elections and mayoral elections will be, as they are on a fixed term. The confusion inherent in a change to the polling district, and therefore to the polling station at which the electorate are required to attend to cast their votes, is not in interests of the electorate. The change might also affect the candidate, such as a sitting councillor seeking re-election whom they want to support in that election. All those confusions are inevitable if there is a change, but they are avoidable in the immediate run-up to an election. I hope that I have made a sensible suggestion that simply offers protection against such confusion and ensures that our elections are administered well.