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REFORM OF ELECTORAL LAW Henni Ouahes Team Lawyer

REFORM OF ELECTORAL LAW Henni Ouahes Team Lawyer. 26 July 2012. Introduction to the project. The Law Commission reviews the law with a view to its simplification and modernisation. The project was proposed by the Electoral Commission and AEA, supported by the Cabinet Office.

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REFORM OF ELECTORAL LAW Henni Ouahes Team Lawyer

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  1. REFORM OF ELECTORAL LAW Henni Ouahes Team Lawyer 26 July 2012

  2. Introduction to the project • The Law Commission reviews the law with a view to its simplification and modernisation. • The project was proposed by the Electoral Commission and AEA, supported by the Cabinet Office. • Three phases of the project: • Scoping study (consultation ends 17 September and report to follow by the end of 2012). • Substantive law reform (consultation summer 2014 and review mid 2015). • Draft legislation (published February 2017).

  3. Conventional model • We looked into the development of the law, from Victorian origins to the 1983 Act • We describe the conventional model of electoral law as: • Laying down detailed legal rules; • To be strictly applied; • By local administrators • Subject to private challenge before the Courts.

  4. Need for reform • What are the modern concerns? • Volume of laws • Complexity of rules • Fragmentation of sources • Our analysis • More elections after 1983, different voting systems • Election-specific legislation • Detailed prescriptive rules in each election • Many statutes, secondary rules and regulations

  5. Aims of the project • Review the legislative framework: • To reduce volume, fragmentation and complexity. • To consider alternatives to election-specific approach to legislation. • Reform electoral administration law: • To modernise and simplify outdated concepts. • To rationalise and streamline rules, make timetables more compatible. • Overall aim is for the law to be accessible, predictable, and helpful for administrators, participants and voters.

  6. Issues within scope • We propose to cover all elections to public office, as well as national and local referendums. • We focus on electoral administration, which includes: • Registration of electors • Campaign conduct • Manner of voting • Polling day and the count • Timetables and the combination of polls • Legal challenge and electoral offences

  7. A qualified issue within scope • Management and oversight of elections is included within scope, but we exclude fundamental change to the current institutional framework for administration- a policy issue. • Focus is on making simpler, less election specific laws- and to reduce volume of rules. • Reducing complexity may require some rules to be less detailed. • Some management and oversight powers may be needed to maintain consistency.

  8. Issues excluded from scope • Exclude more political topics, such as: • Franchise • Voting systems • Boundaries • Political party regulation • National campaign publicity • These are best left to elected representatives, or democratic / cross party consensus.

  9. Next steps • Read the scoping consultation paper and contact us if you have any questions. • Available online at http://lawcom.gov.uk • See A-Z of projects > Electoral Law • Respond by 17 September 2012 so that we can consider your views. • Scoping report due by the end of 2012.

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