Elections after the Elections Act and beyond

On the eve of the 2025 local elections, Peter Stanyon, Chief Executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA), looks at how changes introduced by the 2022 Elections Act are bedding in to electoral processes in England.

Postponed elections due to devolution and local government reorganisation mean that on 1 May, voters head to the smallest set of local polls in decades.

Although small, it’s a diverse spread of polls. Thousands of councillors at parish and principal areas will be elected, as will two local and four Combined (County) Authority mayors, plus one new MP.

From parish to parliamentary, elections are increasingly complex to run. We’ve outlined a range of ways to improve how electoral registration and administration are run in our New Blueprint Report.

It’s unfortunately clear legislative consolidation is not on the agenda for now. Instead, with votes from 16 and voter registration in the UK Government’s manifesto, and automatic voter registration pilots in Wales, more change is coming.

But how is previous change bedding in?

Elections Act 2022 impacts

It’s always important to state the Act does not apply to devolved polls in Scotland or Wales – Scottish Parliament, Senedd elections, or local elections. This means parallel systems and messaging in both nations. We won’t know the full impact of this until after the next scheduled rounds of devolved polls in 2026 and 2027.

Voter ID

Post 2024 general election, voter ID is tried and tested across Great Britain. Electoral Commission reporting shows one in 1,200 voters were prevented from voting at the general election as they didn’t provide the necessary ID. This compares to one in 400 at the May 2023 polls. Increasingly a business as usual affair, electors and electoral administrators alike are now becoming familiar with the new regulations and polling station processes.

Voter ID won’t stand still. We’ve called for a review of accepted forms of ID, removing or adding options to improve accessibility for voters. With the new GOV.UK Wallet set to include digital driving licences and more, we believe voter ID should be included as part of this work, including offering a digital version of the free voter authority certificate.

Postal voting

A centralised portal to apply for a postal vote was launched in October 2023, including an ID check. Of the approximately 1.3m new postal vote applications made for the general election, 85% were made online in just a few weeks.

This volume highlighted the impact of electors no longer receiving tailored local messaging about the dates when postal votes will be sent, depending on when a completed application is returned. Without this, electors can have unrealistic expectations about when their postal vote will arrive and not realise that postal voting won’t work for them. Introducing a localised messaging option on the GOV.UK application portal would help electors and administrators.

A Bill going through the UK Parliament seeks to extend the online application system to devolved as well as reserved polls. Having one system would eliminate different refresh and reapplication requirements in Scotland and Wales, reducing potential voter confusion and administrative burden.

Postal vote handling

New rules restricting campaigners from collecting voters completed packs, and reducing the number any individual can hand in at an election, seem to have settled.

Anyone handing in postal votes at a council office or polling station must fill in a form, further increasing the paperwork presiding officers deal with. It also means voters can no longer pop completed packs through the town hall letterbox. Prominent council letterbox signage is now needed at election time, warning that any packs dropped in without the requisite form will be invalidated.

Overseas electors

Applicable to UK Parliamentary elections only, British citizens living overseas may now register to vote no matter how long they have lived outside the UK, as opposed to the previous 15-year limit.

The 2024 General Election saw an uplift in registrations, but to a system that overpromises and underdelivers for these voters. We believe the deadline to apply to vote by post is too close to polling day, and this is especially true for those living overseas. Earlier deadlines, plus clearer messaging, are needed to make sure overseas electors’ votes actually count.

Accessibility

Disabled voters can now choose anyone over 18 to help them vote at a polling station, including people who may not be eligible to vote at the election themselves.

Returning Officers must also: “take all reasonable steps to provide support for disabled voters at polling stations”. Election teams are experimenting with different ways to make voting more accessible, including making audio recordings of ballot papers available.

We expect more good practice to be shared in this area as administrators work with local electors and disability charities to trial and understand different methods of helping voters. The varying nature of disabilities and continually evolving technology mean our sector will need to constantly review and refine approaches depending on local electors’ needs.

EU voting and candidacy rights

Since 7 May 2024, the rights of citizens from some EU states to vote and stand in elections have changed. Depending on the number of affected EU citizens registered to vote in an area, this created an administrative burden for election teams early last year.

The effects are still to be seen as we move through cycles for elections to local councils in England and Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly and Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales.

Changing from SV to FPTP

Previously, Mayoral elections and Police and Crime Commissioner elections used the supplementary vote system, where voters could choose a first and second choice candidate. Since 2 May 2024, these polls now use the first-past-the-post system.

Without the need to redistribute second choice votes, the main administrative effect of the change has been to simplify counts. With multiple counts across Combined (County) Authority areas this week, some coinciding with County Council elections, counts are more likely to be shorter and declarations earlier.

What comes next?

Devolution and reorganisation across England will change how some areas are structured, with election teams merging in some areas and adapting in others.

Votes at 16 will put the spotlight on engagement and registration in England and Northern Ireland, while harmonising that aspect of the franchise in Scotland and Wales where 16- and 17-year olds already vote at devolved polls.

The outcome of automatic registration pilots in Wales will be eagerly considered, potentially raising questions around the format of the burdensome annual electoral registration canvass across Great Britain.

And what about the people who run electoral registration and the polls? They’ve been working for months to prepare for 1 May as professionally and diligently as ever. The only constant in elections is change, and core teams are past masters at flexibly dealing with whatever comes up during each election cycle. We wish them all the best for their polls and counts this week, a massive thank you to every one of them.