Review of Polling Arrangements 2013
Review of Polling Arrangements 2013
The City Council has a duty under the Representation of the People Act 1983 to divide its area into polling districts and to designate a polling place for each district. It also has to keep these arrangements under review. A polling district is a geographical sub-division of a constituency or ward and a polling place is the area or building where a polling station is located. A polling station is the actual area where voting takes place.
The Council must seek to ensure that electors have reasonable facilities for voting and that, so far as is reasonable and practicable, polling places are accessible to all electors and when considering the designation of a polling place must have regard to the accessibility needs of disabled persons.
The City Council conducted an annual review of polling arrangements in those wards having local elections in the following May but the Electoral Administration Act 2006 introduced a number of changes to the way reviews must be carried out. The main change is that the Council must conduct a full review of all parliamentary polling districts and places which must be started and completed between 1st October 2013 and 31st January 2015. This does not prevent changes being made at any other time. The arrangements made for parliamentary elections are also used at other elections.