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Coronavirus Act 2020

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Postponement of elections, referendums, recall petitions and canvass

  1. On Friday 13th March 2020, the Prime Minister announced that the elections scheduled for 7th May 2020 would be postponed until 6th May 2021. There were a number of polls scheduled for 7th May 2020 due to the ordinary cycle of such elections:
    1. 40 Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections in England and Wales
    2. 118 English council elections
    3. 3 local authority mayors (Bristol, Liverpool and Salford)
    4. 4 combined authority mayors (Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Tees Valley, and West Midlands)
    5. London Mayor and Greater London Assembly
    6. Parish elections
  2. There are also other polls set to be run on that day and that will need to be postponed:
    1. certain other local referendums that are planned for 7th May 2020
    2. Local Authority by-elections for seats that would not ordinarily be completed on that day but become vacant by, for example, resignation.
  3. Most of these polls were due to take place in England only, with the exception of PCC elections which were planned in both England and Wales.
  4. The decision to postpone was taken following advice from the Government’s medical experts in relation to the response to COVID-19 and the advice of those involved with delivering polls (for example, a call by the Electoral Commission that the 7th May elections be postponed until the Autumn).
  5. The need for the postponement arises from concerns that running a poll will be, at best, inadvisable and, at worst, impossible if candidates, campaigners, electors, electoral administrators and those providing supply and support to them are affected by either COVID-19 or the measures around it. Concerns have already been raised by electoral administrators that there would be insufficient staff available to them or their suppliers. Additional risks include polling station safety, the possible demands on Local Authority electoral staff to support other key services, and the impracticality or potential impossibility of campaigning activity. Attempting to run a poll in those circumstances could lead to questions as to legitimacy of the outcome and sets a context for legal challenge to the results and the more general question of why it went ahead in the circumstances.
  6. There is no existing legislative provision that allows for any of the statutory polls scheduled for 7th May, or others around that time and which arise going forward, to be postponed. There are some powers to move poll dates by secondary legislation, but these are only available significantly in advance and can no longer be used for the May polls, or others in the future. The Act enables the postponement of the polls scheduled for 7th May. It also covers the handling of other elections and referendums (such as by-elections and local referendums) that might arise during the COVID-19 outbreak and may need to be postponed - for public health reasons - in a similar way. These include local elections (in England and Wales) and referendums (in England) that were required to be held in the period between 16th March 2020 and 30 days following Royal Assent of the Coronavirus Bill (25th March 2020), but which were not in the event held during that period. It also provides for the postponement of the canvass in Northern Ireland - an exercise to create a new register of electors that happens every decade. The canvass will be moved from 2020 to 2021.

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