Additional information
How is the review conducted?
The review is commenced by publishing a notice that the council is holding a review of polling districts and polling places.
Details of the Acting Returning Officer’s initial proposals are published on the council’s website. Links are circulated to all Bromley’s elected representatives, local political parties, local disability groups and other stakeholders. Comments on the proposed arrangements are invited and should be sent to us in writing or email to the address below by Friday 29 October 2021.
Details of any representations received will be made available for inspection and will be published on the council’s website at the conclusion of the review.
The outcome of the review will be reported to the General Purposes and Licensing Committee on Tuesday 30 November 2021 for decision to enable the Electoral Registration Officer to make alterations to the register of electors with the intention of re-publishing the register (on the new boundaries) on Tuesday 1 February 2022 - in good time to prepare for the local council elections on Thursday 5 May 2022.
What are the aims of the review?
The aims of the review are as to ensure that:
- all the electors have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances
- as far as is reasonable and practicable, every polling place is accessible to all electors, including those who are disabled
- the accessibility needs of disabled persons of potential polling stations in any place which it is considering designating as a polling place
- polling places fall within the polling district, wherever possible
- the use of schools be avoided where suitable alternative premises are available
What is the difference between a polling district, a polling place and a polling station?
- A polling district is a geographical area created by subdividing a ward
- A polling place is the building or area in which polling stations are located
- A polling station is the actual area where the process of voting takes place, e.g. a room in a school
What makes a suitable polling place?
When suggesting a change in polling place, it is important that alternative premises are identified. Consideration should be given to what factors define a good polling place and should have, as a minimum, the following characteristics:
- Be in the polling district (except in special circumstances)
- Be central relative to the location of electors in the polling district, where possible.
- Should not be shared between wards, as this causes problems during elections.
- Should avoid obstacles to voters crossing the polling district and reaching the polling place e.g. steep hills, major roads, railway lines, rivers, etc. where possible, and electors should not have to pass another polling place on the way to their assigned polling place
- Accessibility for all electors attending the polling place, including those with disabilities, where possible
- Convenient transport links within the polling district
- Adequate, safe parking for the size of the electorate. Areas around polling stations, including car parks (if any) should be well lit, as the polling station is open until 10pm
- Size of the room/building used as polling station must be adequate for the size of the electorate (ideally polling stations should have 2000 electors or less)
- Facilities for polling staff e.g. toilets, kitchen or coffee and tea making facilities, heating/cooling systems, comfortable adult sized chairs and tables
- Be readily available in the event of any unscheduled elections, and not likely to be demolished as part of a new development.
Why are schools used as polling stations?
- The Acting Returning Officer has the right by law (under the Representation of the People Act 1983, Chapter 2, Schedule 1, Part III, paragraph 22) to use a room in a school as a polling station (free of charge – save for a reasonable amount for heating, lighting and additional caretaking).
- This right applies to all mainstream schools liable for use by the Acting Returning Officer of the local authority irrespective of how they were procured, and includes academies, foundation schools and voluntary aided schools.
- Schools cannot refuse such a request (unlike private premises where there is always the risk that use for polling may be refused, possibly at short notice) – however the timing of elections often clashes with examinations in May/June (and other activities such as nativity plays in December) and schools are finding it more difficult to accommodate polling.
- Schools continue to provide the most suitable locations in many polling districts because they lie at the centre of the communities they serve, are conveniently located for voters in the area, and are usually more able than other premises to provide all the necessary facilities (e.g. safe storage, appropriate working conditions for election staff) and are generally easily accessible to voters with disabilities (more likely to be compliant under the Disability Discrimination Act). Unfortunately, there is a lack of suitable alternatives in many areas.
- The Acting Returning Officer/council choose the schools that they want to use for polling stations, but the decision to close the school still rests with the head teacher and not the Acting Returning Officer.
- The Acting Returning Officer has the responsibility to ensure that the building is accessible to voters and there are no hindrances or obstacles to them casting their vote. The Acting Returning Officer also has the power to remove people from the building if he feels that they are preventing access to voting. Taken together, the Acting Returning Officer does have the power to insist that a building is empty if he feels that access to the voting is being restricted.
- Notification of the upcoming (scheduled) elections for the next 10 years or so are provided regularly to all schools used as polling stations in the borough to ensure that head teachers are aware of scheduled election dates to enable them to have plenty of time to plan early on and minimize disruption to their schools. It also enables parents to be made aware of the situation well in advance, so that they can put in place appropriate childcare arrangements, if required.
- The Acting Returning Officer is happy to work with head teachers to see if it is possible for a school to remain open and only use a part of it for the polling station. Generally, this needs to be self-contained, with its own entrance and toilets. Ideally the accommodation should be school hall sized for a double polling station and about half the size for a single, (adult) tables and chairs are required (numbers depend on how many polling stations) and access to kitchen facilities and adult toilets.
- A school can also look at the possibility of avoiding loss of educational days through making up the lost day at the beginning or end of term, or, as many schools do, using the scheduled election days for staff training (INSET) days.
As part of this review every effort has been made to avoid the use of a school where a suitable alternative has been identified.
Where this has not been able to be achieved, this review will give head teachers the opportunity to consider if there is a separate part of their school that could be used for polling which would be more convenient for them, and where appropriate allowing for the school to remain open.
In December 2019, 35 schools were used as polling places at the general election and the ARO is proposing to use only 17 schools in the new polling scheme, many of which remain open for pupils.