Local Elections – You do have the authority to vote

By Laura Griffiths

May’s elections will be the first set of elections across our four nations since that bitterly cold General Election in December 2019. However, this year’s elections are not just about Holyrood or the Senedd, they also include the postponed Mayoral and district elections from 2020, in addition to a number of local authority by-elections.

So what does this all mean for the candidates, campaigners, and election agents in a set of elections where turnout is historically low, and that’s before we put the elections in the context of a pandemic.

Firstly, leafleting by hand – one of the main ways for parties to communicate their platform to voters – is not allowed due to COVID-19 and has caused concern at a national level. In the Cabinet Office’s May Polls 2021 delivery plan, the Government specifies that volunteers and activists should not be deployed to deliver leaflets. While some have actively ignored this guidance, political parties have a responsibility to look after the residents they seek to represent. If this means paying more to protect the public by using Royal Mail delivery, then so be it.

This being said, political campaigners have the opportunity to advertise and campaign digitally. However, creating digital content, messaging and promoting that message is not an easy process for volunteers to learn.  It takes both time and money to invest in largely voluntary led campaigns, and training to modernise can often be neglected. While councillors have been using technology to conduct meetings and committees virtually with some even going viral (Jackie Weaver anybody?), expressing your message at a micro level requires time, effort and refinement. Not every campaign group has digitally au fait members at a local level, but it is the safest way to communicate with the electorate during this pandemic. Likewise, due to the effects of the pandemic, many people are working from home and our world can be saturated by desktops and digital content. Is the digital content of campaigning parties going to cut through and reach voters?

One thing that has made the safety of these elections better for all involved in the process is the reduction in the number of nominations required to stand. At a ward level, you typically require 10 nominations to stand. This year, candidates will only be required to obtain a proposer and seconder nomination. This reduces the level of households required to visit and should only mean one additional engagement per household is required for signatures to be collected.

Election day itself will also be interesting. Despite every council across the country advocating and encouraging the electorate to sign up to a postal vote, we know that many people will go and vote in person on the day. If campaigners and councils do not throw all their efforts into postal voting for the sake of democracy in the short window of time left, the health of our country is at risk again. Candidates and parties have to change the psyche of having a plan on voting to day to having a plan to vote early and vote safely.

There will still a number of people who will still vote in person on the 6 May. Getting out the vote will therefore also be challenging – will campaigners only be able to do this using the phone and digital means, or will door knocking in small groups, following the government guidance due to be distributed closer to the time be permitted? Even if knocking is allowed, will residents feel comfortable opening their doors in the current circumstances? This is without even contemplating the existence of campaign rooms (sometimes a house or local party office) where campaigners meet up to go and persuade the electorate to vote and check their supporters have voted.

Then we have the count – an odd experience where after an intense day of getting every vote possible, parties try their best to follow each ballot and make sure their votes do not accidentally end up in a different pile. Bleary eyed during the early hours under the bright lights of a leisure centre, candidates, campaigners, election agents and council staff are all together in one space, separated by tables. With the Electoral Commission’s timetable including Sunday 9 May as a date for election results to be declared, this overnight process may well turn into a long three days in May.

Whatever your political preference, the best way to cast a vote in election is by post. To register to vote by post in this set of bumper elections you can do so here. If you would like more information on what elections are taking place, get in touch with our team on laura.griffiths@secnewgate.co.uk