There will be a discussion with regard to the process for the forthcoming elections for local Councillors, City Mayor and the referendum on electoral reform.
Minutes:
Perry Holmes, Director of Corporate Governance, Leicester City Council provided details on the process for the forthcoming elections.
Perry explained that the election day would be Thursday 5 May and that there were currently three elections scheduled however there may be a fourth. These were:
An overview of the different elections was provided. This was as follows:
Leicester City Council elections for Ward Councillors
It was stated that this took place every four years and there would be 54 Councillors elected in 24 wards. There would be 10 three Member wards and the rest would be two Member wards. With regards to polling stations for the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields area, residents were informed that there would be seven polling stations with two stations in Blessed Sacrament Church Hall. It was stated this was due to a different polling station being needed for the election on the referendum on the Alternative Vote voting system.
Perry explained that for the Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields ward, voters would have to tick three boxes for the three Councillors they wished to vote for.
Elected Mayor
It was explained that there would be two columns on the ballot paper for this election. This represented choosing a first and second choice of candidate,. Residents were informed that if a candidate managed to secure 50% of the first votes then would be declared as the winner. It was explained further that if this was not the case then all candidates apart from the top two would be eliminated and then the second choice votes would be taken into account for the remaining candidates with the first and second choice votes being added together for the candidates and the person with the most votes then declared the winner.
The Community Meeting was informed that if a voter only marked the second choice box and not the first choice then this would be regarded as a spoilt ballot paper and the vote would be not be counted. It was explained however that voters were allowed just to choose their first choice and not necessarily their second choice.
It was noted that in Mayoral elections in other authorities the number of spoilt ballot papers had increased due to the different voting process.
Alternative Vote voting system
It was explained that the Alternative Vote system was similar to the supplementary voting system however there would the possibility of there being a third, fourth or further rounds until a winner obtained 50% of the vote.
Residents were informed that there were 330,000 people in the city and 229,000 were on the electoral register. If people wanted to vote, they needed to ensure they were registered by 14 April 2011. It was noted that there were a considerable amount of people who still were not registered. Residents were informed to expect polling cards towards the end of March. Perry stated that problems with people running out of time to vote as experienced during the last general election in some areas was not expected.
It was explained that candidates standing for election should be known by 4 April and it was expected that 15 Mayoral candidates and 220 Councillor candidates would stand. There were currently 120 polling stations in the city and the count for the elections would take place on the Friday after the election at around 8am. With regards to the Leicester South by-election it was expected that the count for this would take place on either the Saturday or the Monday after the election. Perry commented that information on the election would be contained in LINK magazine, on the Council’s website and he would also be providing interviews to the BBC and Radio Leicester.
It was queried whether a voter would be able to obtain a new ballot form should they make a mistake on the one they were given. Perry commented that it was possible to obtain a new form however it would need to be recorded that a new one was given.