1. REFORM OF ELECTORAL LAW Henni Ouahes Team Lawyer 26 July 2012

2.  The Law Commission reviews the law with a view to its simplification and modernisation.  The project was proposed by the Electoral Commission and AEA, supported by the Cabinet Office.  Three phases of the project: 1)Scoping study (consultation ends 17 September and report to follow by the end of 2012). 2)Substantive law reform (consultation summer 2014 and review mid 2015). 3)Draft legislation (published February 2017). Introduction to the project

3.  We looked into the development of the law, from Victorian origins to the 1983 Act  We describe the conventional model of electoral law as: 1)Laying down detailed legal rules; 2)To be strictly applied; 3)By local administrators 4)Subject to private challenge before the Courts. Conventional model

4.  What are the modern concerns?  Volume of laws  Complexity of rules  Fragmentation of sources  Our analysis  More elections after 1983, different voting systems  Election-specific legislation  Detailed prescriptive rules in each election  Many statutes, secondary rules and regulations Need for reform

5.  Review the legislative framework:  To reduce volume, fragmentation and complexity.  To consider alternatives to election-specific approach to legislation.  Reform electoral administration law:  To modernise and simplify outdated concepts.  To rationalise and streamline rules, make timetables more compatible.  Overall aim is for the law to be accessible, predictable, and helpful for administrators, participants and voters. Aims of the project

6.  We propose to cover all elections to public office, as well as national and local referendums.  We focus on electoral administration, which includes:  Registration of electors  Campaign conduct  Manner of voting  Polling day and the count  Timetables and the combination of polls  Legal challenge and electoral offences Issues within scope

7.  Management and oversight of elections is included within scope, but we exclude fundamental change to the current institutional framework for administration- a policy issue.  Focus is on making simpler, less election specific laws- and to reduce volume of rules.  Reducing complexity may require some rules to be less detailed.  Some management and oversight powers may be needed to maintain consistency. A qualified issue within scope

8.  Exclude more political topics, such as:  Franchise  Voting systems  Boundaries  Political party regulation  National campaign publicity  These are best left to elected representatives, or democratic / cross party consensus. Issues excluded from scope

9.  Read the scoping consultation paper and contact us if you have any questions. Available online at http://lawcom.gov.uk See A-Z of projects > Electoral Law  Respond by 17 September 2012 so that we can consider your views.  Scoping report due by the end of 2012. Next steps

10. For further information contact: AddressHenni Ouahes Steel House 11 Tothill Street London SW1H 9LJ Telephone0203 334 0269 Emailpublic@lawcommission.gsi.gov.uk Websitehttp://www.lawcom.gov.uk/electoral-law.htm