Agenda item
European Union Elections Update
The Committee to receive a verbal update on the preparations for the European Union Elections.
Minutes:
Robert Curtis, Head of Electoral Services, presented a verbal update on the preparations for the European Union Elections 2019. Mr Curtis informed the Committee that confirmation had been received this very afternoon that the Elections would be going ahead on Thursday 23 May 2019. Members were given a detailed summary of the time line of events leading up to the Elections, the processes that have been followed and the preparations to date. The following salient points were also noted;
- That Lewisham were the London Lead Authority for the EU Elections 2019, the Regional Returning Officer was Janet Senior and Will Tuckley, Chief Executive, was the Local Returning Officer for Tower Hamlets.
- That there were eight MEPs to elect.
- The count would take place on Sunday 29th May 2019 for all local authorities and the count for Tower Hamlets would be held in East Winter Gardens in Canary Wharf.
- The results would be declared at 10pm on the Sunday.
- That Police Officers would not be based in all Polling Stations, the RAG (Red, Amber. Green) rating had been reviewed and 11 stations had been identified as stations where there could be potential problems of intimidation and congregation and it had therefore been agreed that those 11 polling stations would have a Police Office present at the station.
- That there would be mobile police units patrolling around all stations throughout the day.
- All European Union citizens (26,133) registered in LBTH were written to explaining that should they register to vote here, they would be disenfranchised and unable to vote in their country if a Brexit agreement is made and therefore this would be to their detriment.
- That 75 polling stations in the borough had been pre-booked and 1500 staff had been contacted to work on the Elections.
- The Notice of Election had been published on 15 April 2019.
- That 18,731 EU citizens were emailed directly with the form and link to register to vote in the UK.
- That there were 21 parties/candidates and the ballot paper was 2 ½ feet long.
- Polling cards had been sent out last week, and postal vote packs were ready and would be posted out Friday 10 May.
- That the Communications Team would be using twitter, Facebook, Council’s website and press releases to keep everyone informed and updated.
- That the verification of the ballot boxes would be done on Friday 24 May in the Town Hall, the introduction of this process would make the count on Sunday more effective and robust.
- The ballot boxes would then be transferred to East Winter Gardens on the Sunday for the actual count.
In response to questions from The Committee the following was noted;
- That systems were now in place to make the count more robust, proactive and faster than in previous years.
- That the count should start early on the Sunday to avoid any delays in declaring the result.
- That the start time of the Count would be confirmed by the Chief Executive and Corporate Director Governance and Monitoring Officer, however, the verification of ballot boxes on the Friday would help fasten the process.
- That there would be 20 teams of 6 counters and 20 trained supervisors working on the count.
- Officers had been working on ways to strengthen the count process.
- Presiding Officers will be given clear advice and guidance on how to seek help when and if needed – that five police mobile units will be patrolling all polling stations throughout the day and there would be dedicated phone lines available for Presiding Officer to call if any issues arise on the day.
- Communications will be providing up-to date information on twitter, Facebook, and the Council’s website during the Election period.
- It was Agreed the Councillors would receive email updates with turn out figures, progress updates on the count and etc.
The Chair welcomed the update and noted that all preparations were going well, he thanked Mr Curtis for all his work and wished the whole team luck with the Elections.