Commentary on Sections Part 4: Review of Polling Places Section 16 Review of polling places
104.This section substitutes new sections 18A – 18E for the current section 18 (place and manner of voting at parliamentary elections) of the 1983 Act. Sections 18A to 18E clarify the duties and powers of local authorities, the Electoral Commission and returning officers. The new provisions also detail the time and manner in which reviews are to take place and how representations can be made, in particular by those concerned to ensure accessibility of polling stations to persons with a disability.
105.Subsection (1) substitutes the new sections 18A – E. Section 18A (Polling stations at parliamentary elections) makes provision for each constituency to be divided into polling districts. It makes no substantive amendment to subsections (1) to (4) of section 18.
106.Section 18B (Polling places at parliamentary elections) provides for the designation of polling places within each polling district. It sets out the basic ground rules relevant to the designation process, in particular (see section 18B(4)(c)) that the authority must have regard to the accessibility to disabled persons of potential polling stations within a designated polling place (for example, which part of a school building is to be the polling station). Apart from section 18B(4)(c), this provision is in similar terms to the current section 18.
107.Section 18C (Review of polling districts and places) provides that local authorities must complete a review of polling districts and places throughout their area within 12 months after the coming into force of this section. They must make further reviews within four years of the last such review. Subsections (2) and (3) deal with alterations to the process to take account of newly created constituencies or when boundary changes alter constituencies.
108.Section 18D (Review of polling districts and places: representations to Electoral Commission) sets out the process for, and who may make, representations during the review process. It clarifies, without substantive amendment, the Electoral Commission’s role in section 18(5) of the 1983 Act. However, section 18D(1)(d) includes amongst the persons who may make representations to the Electoral Commission, persons who, although not electors, are regarded by the Electoral Commission as having a sufficient interest or particular expertise in the issue of disabled access.