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European Parliamentary Elections 22 May 2014 Candidates and Agents Briefing 2

European Parliamentary Elections 22 May 2014 Candidates and Agents Briefing 2. Candidate & Agents Briefing 2. Housekeeping. Please turn all mobile phones off or to silent There are no fire alarm tests today If alarm goes go to nearest Fire Exit and follow directions from staff.

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European Parliamentary Elections 22 May 2014 Candidates and Agents Briefing 2

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  1. European Parliamentary Elections 22 May 2014 Candidates and Agents Briefing 2 1 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  2. Housekeeping • Please turn all mobile phones off or to silent • There are no fire alarm tests today • If alarm goes go to nearest Fire Exit and follow directions from staff. 2 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  3. Introductions Regional Returning Officer South East Region Mark Heath RRO Support Officer & Deputy RRO Ross Thompson Deputy RRO Marijke Elst RRO Administration Support Officer Pat Mitchell 3 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  4. Aims of the Briefing • To give Candidates and Agents detailed information on the voting and counting processes. • General information regarding the election processes. Candidate & Agents Briefing 2 4

  5. Areas to be covered • Election Timetable from now • Roles and Responsibilities • How we are running the South East Region • LRO information • Appointment of Polling, Postal Voting and Counting agents • Registers • Candidates & Agents guidance and protocols 5 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  6. Information Packs • Electoral Commission Guidance for Candidates and Agents • including Electoral Commission Guidance (Relevant Parts 4 -6) • Election Time Tables Euro & Combined Elections • Request forms for Electoral Register & Absent Voters list (in EC guidance) • Code of conduct for parties & campaigners – Postal Voting, Proxy Voting and Polling Stations • Tellers Guidance & Do’s & Don’ts (in EC Guidance) All are available from the Electoral Commission website 6 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  7. European Election Timetable Tuesday 6 MayLast day for applications for Registration Wednesday 7 MayLast day for 5pm Receipt of Applications, Changes and Cancellations to existing Postal Vote,Postal Proxy or Proxy votes Between Friday 25 April to Publication of Wednesday 14 May Second interim election notice of Alteration (at ERO Discretion) 7 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  8. European Election Timetable Thursday 15 May Deadline for appointment of Sub-agents, Polling and Counting Agents Friday 16 May First day for replacement of lost postal votes Thursday 22 May POLLING DAY 7am – 10pm 8 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  9. Roles & Responsibilities Regional Returning Officer Overall Management of election • Determination of the form of the Ballot Paper • Receive Verification figures from Districts on Thursday / Friday • Receive local results on Sunday • Calculate and declare regional result • Notifying the Secretary of State of the result • Power of Direction 9 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  10. Roles & Responsibilities Local Returning Officer • Staffing of the election • Polling Stations • Issue of poll cards • May appoint Deputies (Full and specific powers) • Issue and receipt of postal Ballot Papers • Verification of Ballot Paper Accounts • Counting of Votes • Announcing the LOCAL result AFTER notification of the result to the RRO 10 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  11. Roles & Responsibilities Inter play between LRO & RRO • Issues for LRO’s need to be raised with them, not the RRO • RRO not “Court of Appeal “ in relation to issues that are legally the purview of the LRO • RRO will expect to have major / fundamental issues raised with him, by both LROs and parties / candidates • Where raised and if valid / appropriate will take time to review / discuss and share with other relevant bodies 11 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  12. South East Region Election for 10 European Members of Parliament Region Consists of • 67 District Authorities • 19 of which have one other election as well. • 10 of which have two other elections as well. • List of LRO and ESM contact details for direct contact • RRO office at Southampton City Council offices 12 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  13. Other Forms • Appointment of sub-agents for the South East electoral region no later than Thursday 15 May • For each Sub-agent • Full Name • Office address • Other address if different • Area for which they will be sub-agent Each form must be signed by the (National) Election Agent • Note – Only one Sub- Agent can be appointed to any area or sub area of the Region 13 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  14. Other Forms • Please return the following forms as soon as possible but no later than Thursday 15 May TO LOCAL RETURNING OFFICERS • Appointment of Polling Agents • Appointment of Postal Vote Agents • Appointment of Counting Agents These should be sent to LRO for the area direct. Copies in pack 14 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  15. Access to electoral register/absent voters list • Access by candidates – now you are officially nominated as a candidate: • Make written request to the RRO – forms are available from the office / were also included in your nomination pack. • These requests will be forwarded by the RRO Office to each appropriate ERO to supply the information directly to you. 15 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  16. Access to electoral register/absent voters list • Only use data for permitted purposes! • to help your campaign • to check that donations/loans are permissible It is an offence to use the information for any other purpose 16 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  17. Return of Deposits • Please specify on the form you will receive when your nomination is submitted how you require your deposits returned. (for those eligible to have their deposits returned) • To have the deposit returned to the Party or Independent candidate they MUST have obtained 2.5% of the valid votes cast across the region. Options are • Cheque • Bank transfer Please ensure you return the form for the Return of Deposit to the RRO Office 17 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  18. Campaigning • Use imprints on all your campaign material, including websites. • Comply with planning rules relating to advertising hoardings and large banners. • Make sure outdoor posters are removed 2 weeks after the election. • Do not produce material that looks like a poll card. • Do not pay people to display your adverts (unless they display adverts as part of their normal business). 18 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  19. Code of conduct for campaigners • Each party will be asked to sign up to the Electoral Commission Code of Conduct. This can be done today. • Campaigners are an essential element of a healthy democracy, but their activities should not bring into question the integrity of the electoral process. • Absent vote applications: • Make sure electors understand implications of absent vote. • Do not encourage postal ballot pack redirection. • Do not encourage electors to appoint a campaigner as proxy. • Ensure unaltered applications are sent to ERO within two working days. 19 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  20. Code of conduct for campaigners • Postal ballot packs: • Never touch a postal ballot paper or observe electors completing their postal vote. • Do not encourage electors to give you their completed postal ballot paper or envelope. • If asked to take a postal ballot pack, immediately post it or take it directly to the office of the Returning Officer or to a polling station. • Polling stations: • Keep access to polling places and the pavements around polling places clear to allow voters to enter. 20 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  21. Postal Votes • Last date for Postal Vote applications is 5pm 7 May 2014 • Postal Votes will be issued by the individual Authorities • Due to the different local arrangements the postal votes will be dispatched to Royal Mail in the following window. 30 April to 12 May A majority between 6-12 May • Due to the revised timetable authorities may have two issues of PV. The first being the bulk of postal votes and a second smaller issue with the later applications. 21 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  22. Postal Votes • Postal Votes opening sessions will be arranged by each LRO and you should contact the relevant LRO for details of local Postal Vote opening sessions. • Forms to appoint Postal Voting agents are in your pack 22 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  23. Access to Polling Stations and Local Counts Identification for Candidates and Agents across such a large region is difficult to manage effectively • However we will be issuing identification letters that will only be validated when shown with photo ID. • The LRO’s will be notified on this and that will allow access to Polling Stations, Verification and/ or counts. • If you are intending to attend a local verification or count we would advise you to contact the LRO for any local arrangements. 23 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  24. Access to Regional Count Hub (Sunday) • For access to the Regional Count Hub on Sunday the persons Authorised to attend will be • Party National Agent • Regional Sub- Agent for the South East region (if any) • Candidates • Candidate’s Spouse / Partner or Guest • With 118 Candidates and 15 Parties this means that the number of people eligible to attend is 266 people. • You must bring the letter of identification that we send to you and photographic ID with you to the Count and you will be issued with a further Security identification. 24 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  25. Polling Day • Polling stations open from 7am to 10pm • RRO Office will be open 6.30.am to 10.00pm. for queries or problems relating to the administration of the election then staff will be in the hub for verification. • for queries relating to election candidate finance issues, contact the Electoral Commission(contact details shown later) • Voters in the polling station in a queue inside or outside the polling station at 10 pm can apply for a ballot paper • Postal votes – can be handed into polling stations within ward/division or delivered to the elections office until 10pm. • Aperson in a queue at a polling station at 10pm waiting to hand in a postal vote can do so after 10pm. 25 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  26. Count Protocol • The RRO has produced a Regional Count Protocol which has been circulated to all LRO’s and Electoral Service Managers (ESM’s). • This is to ensure consistency across all 67 authorities in the region. • This explains both the Verification and Count process along with the process of reporting the result to the hub. 26 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  27. Verification - 1 Euro ballot papers will be verified face down as polling does not finish until Sunday night at 10:00PM Each LRO will verify the Ballot Papers for their District Council area either Thursday night or Friday morning (the RRO will compile a list for the region of when authorities are carrying out their verification). The ballot boxes will be taken to the local counts and verified to the Ballot Paper Accounts. If combined election will be verified along with the local votes. 27 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  28. Verification - 2 The European Ballot Papers will be sealed and stored securely until Sunday evening. The RRO will issue a verification / turnout figure for the South East Region by 4pm on Friday afternoon. Local verification figures will be available after this time. 28 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  29. Count Sunday - 1 The ballot boxes will be taken from secure storage to the local counts The Ballot papers will be checked to ensure that they correspond to the verification figure Then they will be sorted and counted as to votes cast All 67 authorities will be working to the Electoral Commission guidance for Doubtful Papers to ensure consistency across the Region The local result will be shared with Agents & Candidates present 29 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  30. Count Sunday - 2 • At this stage a local recount can be requested by an authorised agent. The LRO will decide if the recount request is valid. • Once the LRO has agreed the results they will enter them into the Results Collation System (RCS) for receipt and acceptance from the RRO • On receiving acceptance from the RRO the LRO will declare and publish the local result at the local count venue • When the local results have been declared locally, the RRO will publish them on a notice board at the Southampton Count Hub. 30 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  31. Count Sunday - 3 • When the RRO has received all the 67 results from the LRO’s he will then put the results into the D’hondt formula for calculating the allocation of the 10 seats available • Once the result has been ascertained the RRO will share it with the authorised Agents & Candidates. NOTE –no recounts can be requested of the RRO, only a request for the RRO to recalculate the D’hondt formula. • Once agreed the RRO will move to the O2 Guildhall next to the Civic Centre to declare the results 31 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  32. Count Sunday - 4 • After the declaration the RRO will make available a full list of the 67 local results • The RRO will publish the result and circulate to all the LRO’s to publish locally • Parties / Candidates who qualify for the return of their deposit will receive them by cheque on the night or by BACS transfer on Tuesday 32 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  33. Candidates Spending • Candidates spending is regulated by the Electoral Commission and is laid out in the Candidates and Agents Guidance. • Any enquiries should be referred to the Electoral Commission. www.electoralcommission.org.uk Contacts at the commission. Tel: 020 7271 0616 pef@electoralcommission.org.uk 33 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  34. Royal Mail Free postage on one election communication • Every registered political party and individual candidate included on the statement of individual candidates and parties nominated is entitled to free postage on an election communication to be sent out across the electoral region. Postage will be free on either: • one unaddressed election communication up to 60 grams to every postal address, or • one election communication up to 60 grams addressed to each elector 34 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

  35. Royal Mail contacts Parties and individual candidates should contact Royal Mail to make arrangements if they would like to send an election communication free of charge. Royal Mail can require their own reasonable terms and conditions to be complied with. Additionally, any material that is sent must not contain information on any other election or any other advertising. Information on Candidate mailings are detailed in the Electoral Commission guidance for Parties & candidates (part 4 page 10/11 para 1.32/33) http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/163527/EPE-Part-4-The-Campaign.pdf In terms of details / contacts etc, if you go to Royal Mail's website - see: http://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/CandidateMail_EuropeanElection_Brochure_Mar2014.pdf 35 Candidate & Agents Briefing 1

  36. ANY Questions? 36 Candidate & Agents Briefing 2

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