Agenda item

To receive the report of the Returning Officer concerning the 2015 review of Polling Districts and Polling Places.

42.1       Council considered a report of the Returning Officer concerning recommendations for the 2015 Polling District and Polling Places Review.

42.2       Councillor Hilton moved the recommendations set out in the report and explained that the review was undertaken as a result of the electoral boundary review that would come into effect in May 2016. He advised that polling districts had been tidied up and that Members of the Constitutional and Electoral Working Group had agreed that voters should expect to vote in the same polling at each of the different elections, with polling stations being agreed on that basis. He noted that decisions on a number of polling stations remained outstanding and that the Returning Officer would resolve those matters in advance of the May elections.

42.3       Councillor Haigh seconded the motion.

42.4       Councillor Tracey asked how the Council would obtain the views of electors in Polling District W3 with regard to their preferred polling station location. She questioned whether the Extra Care Village at St Oswalds was the best location given that many of the electors in the area were registered for an absent vote.

42.5       Councillor Hansdot advised that he had informed officers of two further alternative locations for the polling station in Polling District BT5 and that visits would take place to assess their suitability.

42.6       Councillor McLellan asked his ward Councillor colleagues for Barnwood to give officers their views on creating a new polling district to enable electors on the Clock Tower Estate to vote at Abbeymead School.

42.7       Councillor Patel highlighted concerns about moving the polling station for Polling District BT5 to the Trust Centre on Conduit Street due to the lack of parking and the availability of only one lift; he requested that the polling station remain at Tredworth Junior School to prevent voter confusion. He noted that many residents had been advised that their postal vote had not been counted after the 2015 elections because their personal identifiers had not matched the Council’s records; he stated that efforts should be made to contact the affected voters and allow them to rectify the situation ahead of polling day.

42.8       Councillor Haigh stated that efforts should be made to avoid using schools as polling stations, particularly where they had objected, and that alternative venues should be found. She added that voter confusion was not a significant factor as polling stations had changed frequently in some wards, but that the intention was that the decisions made for the May 2016 elections would remain in place for the foreseeable future.

42.9       Councillor Hilton asked the Returning to consider the alternatives options provided in respect of Polling Districts BT5 and W3 and choose the most appropriate locations after listening to the views of Members. In response to Councillor Patel’s comments regarding failed postal votes, he advised that election law required postal vote identifiers to be completely correctly and that no exceptions could or should be made.

42.10   RESOLVED –

(1)       That the proposals for the 2015 Polling District and Polling Places Review be approved.

(2)       That the Returning Officer’s decisions regarding polling station arrangements be noted, subject to final decisions being made in respect of Polling Districts BT5 and W3.