Agenda item

(1)       The Committee considered a report from the Director of Governance and Law on the work being undertaken with the District and Borough Councils in Kent to plan for the County Council elections in May 2013 and the publication of the election results on the County Council’s website.

(2)       Members discussed various aspects of the elections including the role of the District and Borough Councils in running elections and the voting process. 

(3)       Mr Wild, as County Returning Officer (CRO), stated that there would be a robustness around the payment of expenses for the election and confirmed that payments would be made to Districts following the verification of the District expenses by KCC Financial Officers in strict accordance with the approved fees and charges and in line with the recommendations of the Kent Audit review earlier this year.  Following the elections in 2013 work would be carried out to compare the way that District and Borough Councils ran the election and to share best practise in other parts of the country.

(4)       Mr Wild confirmed that the timing of the Election Count was still the subject of discussions with District and Borough Councils, although his initial view as CRO was for all District and Borough Councils to commence the count the morning after election day.  Some of the Committee Members expressed a preference for the Election Count to be held on the night of the Election rather than the following morning.  Mr Wild stated as CRO, the final decision legally rested with him, but he would take into account the views expressed by Members.

(5)       The Committee received a presentation on the way in which Election Results for the County Council election in 2013 could be displayed on the County Council’s website.  Members were pleased with the way in which it was proposed to display the results and made a number of comments, which included the following;

·        Where ever there is a percentage figure shown on the web page the actual number must also be available.

·        The importance of ensuring that the page was kept up to date and regularly refreshed was emphasised.

·        The graphic depicting the prancing horse was regarded as being confusing and should not feature in the final designs

·        The way that the swing was displayed should be kept as clear and simple as possible.

·        Consideration should be given to how this data could be displayed on smart phones.

·        A Member requested that the results should also be made available in the form of a single excel spreadsheet.

(6)       RESOLVED that:

(a)       the progress made with regard to planning for the 2013 County Council elections be noted and it be confirmed that the running of County Council elections remains with the District and Borough Councils; and

(b)       the progress made to date on the display of election results for the County Council elections in May 2013 and the feedback from Members on the way that these should be visually displayed on the website as detailed in these minutes be noted.