June elections

We have a number of responsibilities around election time. These include making sure people understand and follow the rules on party and election finance; setting the standards for running elections and reporting on how well this is done; and making sure people understand it is important to register to vote and know how to vote.

Preparations for the June European Parliamentary elections across the UK and local elections in England are well underway. The next couple of months will be particularly busy as we publish guidance materials and the regulatory period for party spending begins.

To read more on our work on the June elections click here.

Welcome

Happy New Year and welcome to the register – bringing you the latest news, events and publications from the Electoral Commission. This year will be an exciting time as we welcome our new Chair – Jenny Watson who took up her post on 1 January.

We would like to remind you that if you still receive a hard-copy of the register and want to do your bit for the environment – let us know so we can remove you from our hard-copy mailing list.

Students and home-movers

We have begun our annual campaigns to remind students and new home-movers to register to vote. The campaigns include sending a letter and registration forms to recent home-movers and students. The student campaign will also include advertising and an SMS response service.

More details on our campaigns can be found here

Political parties’ statement of accounts

The Commission has decided that new mandatory standards for parties and accounting units submitting accounts will now come into effect for the 2010 financial year (i.e. those accounts due to be submitted to the Commission in 2011). We will pilot draft guidance in early 2009 and will consult on draft regulations shortly after.

Read more on statements of accounts here (DOC)

Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill

This Bill brings forward proposals to separate the Boundary Committee from the Commission and create a separate body. This will mean that the Commission will no longer have any involvement in electoral boundary matters and reflects the recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, which we support. We are broadly pleased with the Government’s proposals in the Bill and have set out our views in a briefing available online.

Looking after the figures

Progress continues on the online party finance and registration system which will replace the existing registers database. In February we will demonstrate the system to some of those who will benefit from it, and will conduct extensive tests to ensure everything is working correctly. The first part of the system is due to launch in April 2009.

See the current system here.

Political Parties and Elections Bill

The Bill is progressing through the Commons. Proposals include providing the Commission with wider investigatory powers and flexible civil sanctions for use when rules on party finance are broken. We will continue to issue detailed briefings at each of the key stages of debate.

Full copies of all our previous briefing materials can be found here

Structural reviews

In February, the Boundary Committee for England, part of the Commission, will publish its final advice to the Communities and Local Government Secretary following its reviews in Norfolk, Suffolk and Devon. A structural review is used to establish whether one or more single, all-purpose councils, known as unitary authorities, should be established in an area instead of the existing two-tier system.

Click here for more information.

Partnership grants

On 31 March we will be holding our final annual grants seminar. This will bring together the charities running projects funded through our Partnership Grants scheme. The projects, ending March 2010, work with young people, disabled people and ethnic minority communities to raise awareness of elections and increase registration. The seminar will focus on sharing best practice.

Click here for more information.

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