Archive for Election law

Electoral administrators call for major changes to election rules

The Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) has published a report, Beyond 2010: the future of electoral administration in the UK, reviewing the workings of the electoral system in this year's May elections and calling for major changes to be introduced. The report repeats previous calls for the laws governing elections to be made simpler and codified into one act, rather than as at present scattered across numerous different acts. The AEA is also calling for a review of the way that the running of elections is funded and structured.

Five MPs face questions over election expenses – how good are their answers?

Channel 4's investigation with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism into MPs' election expenses has raised questions about another five MPs in addition to Zac Goldsmith. Having already looked at some of the legal questions around Zac Goldsmith, how do the other five stack up?

Britain set to gain an extra MEP

21 July 2010 ,
A written answer this week confirmed that Britain's quota of MEPs is about to increase by one.

Electoral Commission to investigate Zac Goldsmith’s election expenses

21 July 2010 , ,
Having reviewed a complaint made about Zac Goldsmith's election expenses (the ones that didn't feature in that TV spat), the Electoral Commission has decided there's a strong enough case to warrant investigation by them.

Zac Goldsmith and election law: what doesn’t count towards your limit?

17 July 2010 , ,
The allegations made against Zac Goldsmith highlight three areas of electoral law where the law leaves considerable latitude for interpretation and where the usual clarity that comes from an accumulation of case law is missing because of the paucity of cases that have considered the issues.

Combining referendum with elections will save £17m

16 July 2010 ,
The Government has published its estimate of how much money will be saved by holding the AV referendum on the same day as other elections.

Hackney Council under fire over allegations it misled public about who was standing in election

9 July 2010 , , ,
Hackney Council has been now accused of repeatedly misinforming members of the public, telling them that there was no Conservative candidate in the recent Mayor election.

Worth a second outing: What’s the point of switching to individual electoral registration?

9 July 2010 , ,
After a long period of stalling, the Labour Government finally announced in spring 2009 a timetable for switching Britain’s electoral registration system from one based on households to one based on individuals. The Electoral Commission, Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats had been calling for such a switch for a long time, and speeding up the move is a priority of the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition, but what’s the reason for making the switch?

Ex-Tory councillor convicted of proxy vote fraud

Mohammed Saghir, the former Conservative councillor in Calderdale who went on trial for electoral fraud earlier this year, has now been convicted.

Scope calls for online voting to assist disabled voters

25 June 2010 , , ,
Online voting should be introduced to assist disabled voters after access to polling stations failed to improve for this year's election, a charity said.