A public consultation has been launched by Stratford-on-Avon District Council as part of a review of its polling districts and polling places for the Stratford-on-Avon and Kenilworth & Southam Parliamentary Constituencies (for the latter, only those parishes/wards within the Stratford-on-Avon District Council area).
The District Council is required to carry out a review every five years to ensure voting arrangements remain up-to-date, convenient and accessible for electors.
David Buckland, Returning Officer for Stratford-on-Avon District Council said: "This is an important review and it gives people the opportunity to have their say on local voting arrangements. Many of our polling stations are at long-established locations and a lot of people will be familiar with them.
"We want to hear if anyone has concerns or issues with the current venues so we can ensure that all the electors have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances."
Residents can find out more about the review at: www.stratford.gov.uk/pollingreview
Representations can be sent to: Polling Review, Electoral Services Office, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, Elizabeth House, Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6HX or emailed to: PollingStation.Review@stratford-dc.gov.uk
The consultation period will end on at midnight on Monday 30 October 2023.
Once the consultation has concluded, proposals will be considered by the Council's Audit and Standards Committee at its meeting to be held on 13 November 2023, with final proposals placed before Full Council, at its meeting to be held on 11 December 2023. Both reports will be published with recommendations for the new polling districts (subject to any polling district references that may require an amendment) and polling places for future elections.
The Electoral Register will be published on 1 December 2023 and then re-published on 1 February 2024 to take in to account any changes made by Full Council on 11 December 2023.
Since October 2013, all local authorities are required to review their polling districts, polling places, and polling stations every five years (S18C of the Representation of the People Act 1983). This compulsory review period is from October 2023 to Jan 2025. Each authority may choose the exact dates and length of their review; however, this must fall within this period.
The review requires the District Council to:
- Seek to ensure that all the electors in the constituency have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances.
- Seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable, the polling places they are responsible for, are accessible to all electors, and, when considering the new designation of a polling place, must have regard to the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities.
What is being reviewed?
- Polling districts which is an administrative area within a ward that helps the council to run elections; and
- Polling places, which includes the polling station where you go to vote in a local or general election.
