Commentary on Sections Part 1: Co-ordinated On-line Record of Electors Section 1 CORE schemes: establishment
43.Subsection (1) confers a power on the Secretary of State to establish by order, one or more Co-ordinated On-line Record of Electors (CORE) schemes for the keeping, and use, of specified electoral registration information. It specifies certain matters that may be governed by a CORE scheme.
44.A CORE scheme will be maintained by a ‘CORE keeper’, who will be designated by the scheme. The CORE keeper must be a public body (subsection (10)). More than one CORE scheme may be in place at the same time and a scheme would designate the geographical area that it was to cover. Subsection (7) specifies, however, that the geographical areas of CORE schemes could not overlap, so that no area could be in more than one scheme at a time. The EROs within a CORE scheme area will be under a duty to provide the keeper with the specified electoral registration information relating to that area (subsections (1) and (2)).
45.Subsection (11) specifies the electoral registration information that can be kept and used in accordance with the CORE scheme. It could include the register of electors for any election, as well as associated records relating to such a register, which EROs are required or authorised by law to keep. It could also include other information that is required for electoral or jury service purposes relating to a person who appears on a register. The Secretary of State can, by order, add to the information to be held in a CORE scheme.
46.A scheme will establish the details of how and when EROs must provide the specified electoral information to the keeper and specify how a CORE keeper must keep that information (subsections (3) – (6)).