“Firm intention” to hold Welsh Parliament elections in six months time as cross party group comes to consensus

A cross party planning group has been looking at how Welsh Parliament elections, due in six months time, could be held during a pandemic.

The Welsh Government’s has said it is the “firm intention” that the Senedd election scheduled for 6 May 2021 should go ahead on that date, and work is continuing on that basis. However, added it is not possible to predict the precise public health position next May, and the continuing and evolving effects of the Coronavirus pandemic could affect aspects of the election arrangements and require some adjustments to be made.

The Welsh Government established the Elections Planning Group – comprising representatives of a range of organisations involved in the elections, political parties, other stakeholders and Welsh Government officials – to consider the potential impact of Coronavirus measures on the administration of the election and in particular any implications in relation to the underpinning legislative provision.

A report from that group has been made public, and the First Minister has said it has now been considered and the contents was discussed at Cabinet.

The First Minister has said, “The Elections Planning Group reached a consensus on a number of areas, which the Welsh Government will implement. Further consideration is being given to other issues covered in, and arising from, the Group’s report” adding that a debate will take place on the 17th of November to allow Members of the Senedd to ‘share their views on this subject, and to enable the Welsh Government to outline further information on next steps.’

Today we asked the Health Minister Vaughan Gething if there had been any further discussion on how elections may take place, if there is prospect of a pure postal vote election, and with the lead times required to move to that model what are the timelines for such a decision to be made.

The Minister replied, “A conversation is taking place between each of the parties about what the elections might look like. We could have a different sort of election, I just think that speculating ahead of what that might mean isn’t helpful because there is work the parties are doing.”

“Of course, there’s work that needs to involve the Presiding Officer because if there were to be changes in the way that things need to take place she needs to be engaged in that too. Also, we’re very serious about the impact on local authorities and the way that the canvass is done, the way the electoral register is put together and if there were changes to mechanics to give them enough time to run the election properly.

“So, it’s the interest of all parties to to try and agree about what we might need to do to make sure that as far as possible, that election goes ahead on the 6th of May.”

“I don’t want to put off the election. I want to make sure people can cast their ballots after five years and decide who will have the responsibility of guiding Wales to the next phase of the response to Coronavirus, because the healthcare response won’t be finished by the start of May, neither will the economic response. The impact of Coronavirus will largely dominate the first part of the next Welsh Parliament term. I would much rather that people have that democratic say in who that will be on the 6th of May, and it will take something extraordinary for that not to happen. “.

The report’s ‘areas of consensus’ are detailed in a long list:

• The continuing aim should be for the Senedd elections to be held on 6 May as planned
• In order to achieve this, consideration of ways to increase the flexibility and resilience of election operations should be built into the planning process, reflecting public health advice on how best to protect the safety and wellbeing of election voters, participants, and administrators
• Voters who have previously been shielding or are in a vulnerable category should be encouraged, at an early stage, to consider applying for a postal vote (but made aware that whilst they could take their completed postal vote to the polling station in person, they could not then ask to vote in person)
• More generally, there should be an early drive to encourage postal vote applications in order to avoid a late rush of postal vote applications, as this could prove very difficult to manage in the time available and in the circumstances which could be faced on the pandemic
• Greater flexibility on who is permitted to present nomination papers should be provided and papers should be permitted to be presented electronically
• Some degree of greater flexibilities in respect of postal and proxy votes were supported, but whilst still maintaining appropriate checks to protect against the risk of voting fraud. The following provide examples of areas for further detailed consideration:
  • Explore whether there can be an increase in certain circumstances in how many people one individual can be a proxy voter for, for example if a household with multiple voters is required to self-isolate
  • Amend the requirement for emergency proxy votes, so that medical attestation is not required in relation to coronavirus
  • Ensure the process for emergency proxy votes has the capacity to deal with higher demand (if for example, a significant number of individuals or households are required to self-isolate very close to the polling day)
  • Arrangements for the collection of postal votes should be made available and communicated, but with the responsibility remaining with the voter
• Public health regulations enforcing a local lockdown should not inhibit the right to vote and voting should be considered a ‘reasonable excuse’ (to use the legal language from the relevant regulations) for leaving the house
• The count could be conducted to an extended timeframe if more time would allow for greater protection of the health and safety of those involved (e.g. fewer count staff to allow social distancing) and / or enable candidates and counting agents to continue to exercise their right to satisfy themselves that votes are correctly allocated.

The report says the group also indicated that, “in principle, they were willing to consider bringing forward the notice of election, subject to consideration of the regulatory arrangements, further discussions on practicalities and any implications on other issues.”

The report also details how practical changes could be seen at polling stations and at the count,  “…if absolutely necessary in the context of the buildings being used, it would be possible to limit the number of observers at polling stations, opening of postal votes or counts. But the group was keen to ensure that any such limitations were applied in the first instance to general observers rather than polling/count agents or family members who are permitted to accompany the candidate.”

Other changes could see ‘early voting centres’, however the discussions appear to have ruled measures that would enable (or require) particular groups of voters to vote at a specified time as this could be confusing for voters.

A “fallback contingency measure” is also detailed, however not included in the ‘consensus’ section, that reads: “In the circumstances in which the pandemic situation was extremely serious and posed a risk to the safe holding of the election, a possible extension to the Llywydd’s power to vary the date of the 2021 Senedd election to enable the date to be moved by more than one month (for example, until the summer or autumn 2021).”

Details of those who have been involved in the discussion and creation of the report are also detailed, showing a range of political input over the five occasions it met.

• Wales Electoral Co-ordination Board
• Association of Electoral Administrators
• Returning Officers
• NUS Wales
• Police (representing Police & Crime Commissioners, Chief Constables and Integrity Lead)
• Electoral Commission
• Senedd Commission
• UK government (Cabinet Office)
• Brexit Party
• Welsh Conservative Party
• Welsh Labour
• Welsh Liberal Democrats
• Plaid Cymru
• Welsh Government

Wrexham.com raised the topic in today’s Welsh Government briefing, you can watch that and the full Q&A in the below video:

Cynhadledd i’r Wasg byw gyda’r Gweinidog Iechyd Vaughan Gething | Live Press Conference with Health Minister Vaughan Gething https://t.co/NQZdQBjvqC

— Welsh Government (@WelshGovernment) November 6, 2020

Top pic: A live stream of a previous election count taking place in Wrexham.