Voting for good risk management

As UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the general election would take place on 6 May, local council election teams were thrown a significant challenge – how to host two separate elections on the same day. Combining the local and general elections provides some unique challenges beyond the usual logistical considerations. One is ensuring that people who are allowed to vote in one election but not the other are given the correct ballot paper.

“A peer of the realm can come in and vote at the polling station in the local elections but you can’t issue him a ballot to vote in the parliamentary elections,” says Stephen Stuchbury, head of risk management for the London Borough of Bexley and vice chair of the Alarm (the public risk management association) South East Committee. “So you’ve got to be on your mettle when you’re in the polling station on who is allowed to vote.”

Holding two elections also means two counts will have to take place, putting added pressure on resources. “If the people doing the counting for the general election have been up late into the night they’re not going to be fresh enough to count the local election papers – so you need another team of people to do that.”

Intense activity

Local councils are facing a month of intense activity. Each has an election organising committee that is responsible for putting together a contingency planner and risk register as it prepares for polling day. Returning officers have overall responsibility for the conduct of the elections, while presiding officers are responsible for the conduct of the ballot in each of the polling stations.

One common issue to consider is access – ensuring there is safe and adequate entry for voters and disabled voters. If this is a problem at a particular location it is something the risk register should flag up.

“In the past I’ve been in temporary polling stations that have been on the side of a field and if it’s been raining heavily suddenly you’ve got a quagmire to get through and you have to think about how you can get people safely across,” Stuchbury reveals. “Or you’ve got equipment left out in a school or village hall from the previous night that has to be put out the way.”

Presiding officers are responsible for conducting site visits at each polling station and ensuring they are fit for purpose. They must also ensure each station is set up efficiently to deal with a large number of people. The idea is to get voters in and out as quickly as possible, to prevent bottlenecks and reduce the risk of accidents occurring.

“You’ve got to stop people wandering around the building because one of the things they love to do is linger – you want them to come in, vote and leave because it makes it easier for staff to see what’s happening and deal with people at the busiest times,” Stuchbury says.

Local authorities’ public liability insurance provides cover for both local and national elections. “The policies extend to cover the risks that the returning officer and his staff may generate,” Stuchbury adds.

Reputational risks

Beyond the public liabilities, the biggest risk a local authority faces on election day is a mistake occurring with the ballot itself. Ballot mistakes led to the Winchester by-election in 1997. The original election result was overturned and Liberal Democrat Mark Oaten unseated when it was discovered that the returning officer’s staff had not marked 55 ballot papers with the official stamp.

The Conservatives argued that in such a closely fought battle these rejected papers would have led to a win for their candidate. But Oaten proved to be the clear winner in the by-election, held a month later.

The reputational impact of conducting a re-run is something everyone wants to avoid, Stuchbury says. “Fortunately we’ve never had to re-run an election in Bexley and that’s a reputation we want to preserve – that’s why people go over and over checking everything before you get to that polling day.”