Pilot Scheme Evaluation

Electoral Commission's pilot scheme evaluation report

The Electoral Commission's evaluation report on Salford's pilot all-postal ballot, conducted for the May 2003 city council election is attached, together with an additional survey report, undertaken by the city council after the election took place. A copy of the statutory order upon which the scheme was run is also available.

The Electoral Commission is a public body established under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA). The Commission is independent of Government, non-partisan and directly accountable to Parliament. One of the Commission's aims is to encourage participation in the democratic process, and increase levels of electoral registration and voting.

As a result of measures introduced by PPERA, the Commission has a statutory duty to evaluate any pilot electoral scheme approved by the Minister of State for Local Government and the Regions, on behalf of the Secretary of State.

In accordance with the requirements of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) 2000, the Commission's evaluations include a description of the scheme and an assessment as to:

the scheme's success or otherwise in facilitating voting or the counting of votes, or in encouraging voting or enabling voters to make informed choices at the elections
whether the turnout of voters was higher than it would have been if the scheme had not applied
whether voters found the procedures provided for their assistance, by the scheme, easy to use;
whether the procedures provided for by the scheme led to any increase in personation or other electoral offences, or in any other malpractice in connection with elections
whether those procedures led to any increase in expenditure, or to any savings, by the authority

The following documents are available to download: