Minutes:
The Executive Director - Core Services gave a verbal update on the Elections Review. Peter Clark, Elections Manager was in attendance to answer any specific Member questions.
The Committee was informed that in the May 2022 Local Elections a serious breach was found in respect of the Royston count. The Association of Electoral Administrators was commissioned by the Returning Officer to complete an investigation which had now been completed. The Electoral Commission, candidates and elections agents were also informed, and the Elections Manager completed an end-to-end review on the effectiveness of current polling station and count arrangements.
It was noted that the Returning Officer would like to present the report to the Committee and therefore would attend the meeting in November.
In the ensuing discussion, particular reference was made to the following points:
· The Election Review will be included in the final Annual Governance Statement.
· The report was produced by the Association of Electoral Administrators at the beginning of July. The actions contained in the report all relate to the forthcoming May 2023 Local Elections, therefore the Committee would receive the report in a timely matter on 16th November 2022.
RESOLVED
(i) That the verbal update be noted; and
(ii) That the report be presented to the Committee by the Returning Officer on 16th November 2022.