Archive for electoral commission
New figures reveal which candidates do the most campaigning
Figures revealing which party’s candidates were most likely to do leafleting, canvassing, internet campaigning and a set of other activities have just been published by the Electoral Commission.
The Commission carried out a survey of local election candidates from the June 2009 campaign and found:
Conservative candidates were most likely to have produced a campaign leaflet (98% [...]
Northern Ireland residents back ending donations secrecy
From the BBC:
“Most people” are in favour of ending the confidentiality surrounding donations to political parties in NI, focus group research has suggested.
It was conducted by the Electoral Commission, which recorded the views of eight groups around NI, each consisting of between six and eight people.
Unlike the rest of the UK, details of political donors [...]
Weekend voting: will this be the next trend in trying to raise turnout at elections?
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire:
Over the last few years a wide range of attempts have been made to raise turnout at elections in the UK. The broad conclusion is very simple: all-postal ballots raise turnout significantly (albeit at the cost of various drawbacks) and nothing else that has been tried does so. E-voting, early voting, [...]
“Electoral watchdog under fire as Lord Ashcroft inquiry threatens to run into election”
From today’s Observer:
Controversy over Lord Ashcroft’s donations to the Conservative party deepened last night after Labour MPs demanded an urgent meeting with Britain’s elections watchdog.
Placing more pressure on the Tories, Labour MPs want to know why the Electoral Commission’s official inquiry into an Ashcroft-controlled company, which has given £3m to the party, has dragged on [...]
Improving election counts: good moves from the Electoral Commission
Earlier this week I went to meet with the Electoral Commission to discuss their plans for encouraging better practice at election counts. Having spotted my views, they invited me thinking I might be interested in their plans – and kudos to the Electoral Commission for willing to talk in this way.
The plans are still in [...]
Norwich North by-election report undermines the case for Friday counting
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire:
Although this summer’s Parliamentary by-election in Norwich North kicked off much subsequent debate about the alleged benefits of Friday (rather than Thursday night) counts after it was counted on a Friday, a close reading of the Electoral Commission’s report into the Norwich North by-election reveals that in fact the Norwich experience [...]
The plans to cut election expenses may be dead but there are still lessons to learn
Blink and you might have missed it: first details of a discussion about ways to cut the costs of running elections are leaked and then Jack Straw promptly disowns them and kills off the discussion.
Given how weak the proposals were – and the relatively small sums involved – I think that was the right decision [...]
What the media didn’t tell you about the Bedford Mayor election
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire:
Good news, though you’d be hard press to spot it from the media reports. On a like-for-like basis turnout was up significantly in the Bedford Mayor election this week.
In the first Mayor election, in October 2002, turnout was just 25% whilst this Thursday it was up to 31%. Six percentage points [...]
UKIP faces £367,697 bill after court rules magistrate wrong to levy small ‘fine’
Good news all in all for both the Electoral Commission and for the laws regulating donations to political parties with the decision today by an Appeal Court to overturn a previous strange ruling by a magistrate in the case of a series of donations to UKIP that the Electoral Commission had investigated and decided broke [...]
Bad systems, not tired people get election counts wrong
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire:
Both the recent controversies over whether or not general election counts should take place on the Thursday night and whether or not the 2012 London Mayor and Assembly elections should use e-counting touch, in part, on the question of the accuracy of manual counts.
This is an area where systematic evidence is [...]
