Memorandum by Chester City Council (PVF
14)
GENERAL
1. Did you experience problems because
the Government was slow in publishing the necessary statutory
instruments?
The lateness of the publication gave very little
time for the preparation of the pilot.
2. Were problems caused by the very
short time scale between close of nominations and the need to
deliver postal voting documents to electors?
Yes.
3. Earlier pilots had been self selecting.
Did the fact that all-postal ballots were mandatory for these
elections cause problems with skills and resources?
This was a totally new area for staff and new
skills had to be learnt in a very short time scale. An extra member
of staff was employed but further resources were needed.
4. Have you received/reported any allegations
of fraud?
No.
PRINTING AND
DISSEMINATION
5. Was there sufficient printing capacity
to cope with all-postal elections?
No. We experienced late delivery of our ballot
packs because the printing and packaging process was taking longer
than the printer expected.
6. Did any of the ballot papers require
re-printing?
No.
7. Do you have any comments to make
on the performance of the Royal Mail?
The performance was good given the extremely
tight time-scale. There are a few issues which need to be raised
with Royal Mail (eg late delivery of post to Town Hall, mail received
for other local authorities etc) but given the number of ballot
packs delivered these issues are minor.
8. How many ballots did you:
9. How many electors do you estimate
did not receive ballot papers?
No complete records kept. We re-issued 82 to
a particular street where no ballot packs had been delivered and
74 ballot packs to those electors who came to the office who had
not received them. A number of people telephoned to say they had
not received papers but did not want to travel to collect replacements.
10. Are you aware of any practical difficulties
experienced by voters, as a result of:
351 electors attended the Assistance and Delivery
Point for assistance with the declaration.
No records were kept of the complaints but a
high proportion of telephone calls received were from electors
who could not understand the instructions, questions about who
could witness the declaration (husband for wife/wife for husband),
how to get the barcode into the envelope window and the secrecy
of the ballot.
11. How many and what percentage of
ballot papers:
(b)
were not counted because of errors in completion
of the ballot paper or the witness declarations? What percentage
were these of the total votes cast? —1,120—2.52%.
12. Did all-postal voting increase turnout?
Yes from 34.4% to 49.8% in the local elections
and 26.6% to 48.7% in the European elections.
13. N/A.
COST AND
RESOURCES
14. As a result of using the all-postal
system did you need to bring in:
(b)
staff on overtime—3 full time members of staff
worked approximately 220 hours overtime from 1-13 June.
Cost? —Approximately £2,500
15. What was the overall cost of the
election?
Costs not yet finalised.
| 
