East Midlands - Use of "greeters" and Voter ID at May elections
Dear South Kesteven District Council,
Please can you answer the following freedom of information request:
BACKGROUND INFO:
According to a recent Guardian article:
"While clerks inside polling stations will take a formal register of those lacking ID, some venues will use “greeters” outside to remind people about the need for ID before they go in. They will not record the numbers who then leave because they do not have ID and do not return to vote."
Furthermore, according to the Electoral Commission:
Greeters are official members of polling station staff, and are the responsibility of the Returning Officer. They can be used to welcome voters, remind them about the need to show ID, and help speed up the voting process.
When submitting data from polling stations, local authorities will need to tell us how many of their polling stations had at least one greeter – they do not need to report how many they had. We don’t issue specific guidance for them, but they are mentioned in our polling station handbook.
The official data on the proportion of people who were turned away, and those that later returned to the polling station with accepted ID, could only be collected by those at the ballot issuing desk, and not by greeters at the entrance. The presence of a greeter at a polling station is likely to affect the data recorded at the desk. For this reason, local authorities will need to separate out the data they will report to us into polling stations with and without greeters when submitting figures after the polls.
While we know that some potential voters will have been turned away by greeters, others will have been deterred earlier in their journey or earlier on polling day, and despite the very best efforts would remain beyond the reach of any practical data collection exercise. So, alongside the information collected from polling stations, we will also be doing public opinion surveying across England, to understand the experience of voters.
MY REQUEST:
1 - Please can you confirm if this council used "greeters" at the entrance to voting stations during the recent May 2023 elections?
2 - Did you record the number of people turned away from voting stations by "greeters" during the May 2023 elections?
3 - Please provide ALL datasets you hold regarding the number, use and impact of "Greeters" at polling stations during the recent local elections held in May 2023
Yours faithfully,
russell scott
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Kindest regards,
South Kesteven District Council
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Dear Russell Scott
Thank you for your enquiry 502510.
If you are requesting access to information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulation 2004 you will receive a response within twenty working days. If your enquiry is related to invoking your rights as set out under Data Protection legislation, you will receive a response within one calendar month.
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19/Jun/2023 15:39:15:
Request:
1 - Please can you confirm if this council used "greeters" at the entrance
to voting stations during the recent May 2023 elections?
2 - Did you record the number of people turned away from voting stations
by "greeters" during the May 2023 elections?
3 - Please provide ALL datasets you hold regarding the number, use and
impact of "Greeters" at polling stations during the recent local elections
held in May 2023
Decision:
1. Yes, greeters were used as some polling stations.
2. No, greeters did not record any details of voters.
3. In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 this message
acts as a Refusal Notice to this section of your request.
The Council is relying on Section 44 of the Act in this case which states
that a public authority is not obliged to provide information when not
allowed by law. In this case we are unable to supply the requested
information as it is prohibited under Rule 40B(7) Schedule 1
Representation of the People Act 1983. Please see
https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/s...
for further information.
Your right of appeal:
If you have any queries or concerns regarding this decision, please email:
[South Kesteven District Council request email]
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a request for an internal review of the SKDC
decision, you should email: [South Kesteven District Council request email] and quote ‘FOI review
request’ in the subject line.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally,
the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the procedure
provided by the council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk
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Dear South Kesteven District Council,
FURTHER FOI REQUEST:
Please can you answer a further FOI request:
1 - Please can you confirm the following regarding the May Elections:
A - How many voters were not issued with a ballot paper in total? (Even if they eventually returned)
B - How many voters came back and were issued with a ballot paper?
Yours faithfully,
russell scott
Dear Russell Scott
Thank you for your enquiry 512714.
If you are requesting access to information under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulation 2004 you will receive a response within twenty working days. If your enquiry is related to invoking your rights as set out under Data Protection legislation, you will receive a response within one calendar month.
Complaints will be provided with a full response within 10 working days or an explanation stating why the response will not be ready and when the response can be expected.
We will ensure that all Feedback/Comments/Compliments are shared with the relevant service areas.
More information regarding this can be found on the Webpage link below.
<a href="http://www.southkesteven.gov.uk/index.as...>Complaints, compliments and comments (southkesteven.gov.uk)</a>
This email and any attachments may contain confidential material and are solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this email. If you are not the intended recipient(s), you must not use, retain or disclose any information contained in this email.
20/Jul/2023 22:58:17:
Request:
Please can you answer a further FOI request:
1 - Please can you confirm the following regarding the May Elections:
A - How many voters were not issued with a ballot paper in total? (Even if
they eventually returned)
B - How many voters came back and were issued with a ballot paper?
Decision:
A. The total number of polling station electors who applied for, but at
least initially, were not issued with a ballot paper - 65
B. Number of voters who later returned and were issued with a ballot paper
- 36
Your right of appeal:
If you have any queries or concerns regarding this decision, please email:
[South Kesteven District Council request email]
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a request for an internal review of the SKDC
decision, you should email: [South Kesteven District Council request email] and quote ‘FOI review
request’ in the subject line.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you may
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally,
the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the procedure
provided by the council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk
The information we have supplied to you may contain intellectual property
rights of South Kesteven District Council. Your use of the information
must be strictly in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act
1988 (as amended), or other applicable legislation. In particular, you
must not re-use this information for any commercial purpose. If you would
like to re-use this information
for any commercial purpose you must make a formal request to us under the
Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015. Please email us at
[South Kesteven District Council request email].
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