Welcome to Your Vote Week – Raising young people’s political awarenessThis week is Welcome to Your Vote Week, a campaign by the Electoral Commission to spark campaigners across the UK to speak to students in schools and raise young people’s political awareness. Amidst a global...Posted 02 Feb 2023
We told the Welsh Government our suggestions for how to remove barriers to votingSince elections were devolved to Wales in the Wales Act 2017 there have been a lot of changes for Welsh democracy. We’ve seen the extension of the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds and...Posted 31 Jan 2023
Early indications suggest Welsh voting pilots went wellIn May’s local elections, four areas in Wales trialled a different way of voting – allowing people to cast their vote before election day. As well as polling stations being open on the Thursday 5...Posted 05 Aug 2022
Now it’s over to the Lords to prevent the government’s assault on democracyYesterday was a dark day for democracy. Despite widespread opposition from campaigners, election experts, academics and civil society the government’s Elections Bill successfully passed through the commons. The Bill includes clauses introducing voter ID, more...Posted 18 Jan 2022
Who can I vote for? How do I vote? What everyone needs to know for the May electionsMay sees elections for around 5,000 seats in England, votes for the Mayor of London and London Assembly, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament), the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. Holyrood and the...Posted 23 Apr 2021
Building a better democracy – 2020 and the Electoral Reform SocietyIt’s hard to think of a more troubling year in living memory. But the public health crisis has, perhaps counter-intuitively, put issues of democracy at the forefront. The election may feel like a distant memory,...Posted 07 Dec 2020
The government has a chance to right a major electoral injustice on TuesdayAs it stands, the new constituency boundaries will not take into account roughly nine million people who aren’t on the register.Posted 09 Nov 2020
Early voting doesn’t have to mean long queuesTwo news stories stood out this week. As early voting opened in some US states, images of voters queuing all day to vote were greeted as signs of enthusiasm in America but confusion outside, while...Posted 15 Oct 2020
This simple change could help bring in the ‘missing millions’Rather than putting up bureaucratic barriers to engaging with politics, we should be ensuring everyone can use their vote.Posted 15 Oct 2020
Parties can back this simple change today to help bring in the ‘missing millions’A cross-party group of peers are backing an amendment to improve the accuracy of the electoral register setting out new ways to include 16 and 17- year olds on the nationwide list – so they...Posted 08 Oct 2020