Review of Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations

The review of all the places in the district where you can vote in elections has now been completed.

On this page you can read the results of the review, plus all the background information about why we are carried out the review.

Results of the review

The Review of Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations which Salisbury District Council was required to undertake has now been concluded.

On this web site there is the Web Pagefinal report containing the findings of the polling places review which was accepted by councillors on 18 February, the correspondence received in relation to the consultation, the correspondence sent to the relevant consultees and the minutes of the meeting where the report was considered in addition to other relevant documentation. The report and the other documents have also been made available at the following places within the district:

  • Pennyfarthing House, Pennyfarthing Street, Salisbury
  • The Guildhall, Market Square, Salisbury
  • Mere Library
  • Amesbury Library
  • Salisbury Library

The majority of polling stations will not change, but a note will be included on poll cards issued to electors just prior to the next election notifying them if there is a change, either as a consequence of the review, or through premises not being available.

Salisbury District Council and the Returning Officer is always open to suggestions or comments about polling stations, particularly access for those electors with disabilities of whatever form. If you have any suggestions for improvement, please write to the Election Team, Salisbury District Council, PO Box 2117, Salisbury, SP2 2DF or email elections@salisbury.gov.uk. Alternatively, please call 01722 434230.

Documents

The report includes:

  • Final version of the Polling District Schedule
  • Appendix 1 - Changes to Polling Districts CE (Milford 1) St Edmund and Milford Ward and CG (Milford 2) St Martin and Milford Ward.
  • Appendix 2 - Polling Districts which must be combined to make one Polling Place where polling station falls outside its own polling district.
  • Appendix 3 - List of Individuals/Organisations who made representations
  • Appendix 4 - Representations 8-12, 14, 15, 17 and 18

Consultation letters to relevant consultees:

Additional representations not included in Appendix 4 of report to Full Council:

Regulatory background

The Electoral Administration Act 2006 (EAA 2006) says that all councils must review the designation of all polling districts and polling places (including polling stations) within their area. In 2007/08 Salisbury District Council therefore needed to review all the polling districts and polling places in the existing parliamentary constituency of Salisbury and part of the constituency of Westbury. After that they will need to be reviewed at least every four years.

Polling districts and stations covered by the review

The Westbury Constituency (part) relates to nine polling districts and stations These are identified on the attached schedule.

Salisbury district currently has 122 polling districts, varying in electorate size. 109 venues are used at election time either as a single or joint polling station.

All the polling districts and stations, the existing arrangements and proposed changes, are shown on the Microsoft Excel WorkbookSchedule of polling districts and stations 79kb. Both the existing and any proposed arrangements apply to parliamentary elections and any other type of election held with the district of Salisbury.

Also see the Adobe PDFPolling district map with constituencies shown 1.2mb.

Matters to take into account

Elections affected by changes

The polling district boundaries apply to parliamentary elections, and to all elections within a ward such as local elections.

Parliamentary boundaries

The new parliamentary boundary amendments do not take effect until the next Parliamentary General Election. Therefore this review will be based on the existing boundaries. It is not envisaged that any parliamentary boundary changes will have any impact on any existing polling districts or possible proposed changes following the review. However, a further review could be carried out following the next Parliamentary General Election, if necessary.

Temporary polling stations
There has been an informal arrangement over many years to use temporary polling stations . The Electoral Commission suggest that good polling stations are designated first, and then polling districts built around them. Temporary polling stations are not satisfactory, as they provide very basic facilities for voters and staff (who are there for at least 15 hours). We should therefore aim to minimise their use where possible.
Schools
All the schools used as a polling station do stay open and disruption is kept to a minimum where possible. However, it would be preferable to find alternative venues which would overcome some security and safety concerns for the pupils and staff alike.
Future building developments and increase of electorate

The council's Forward Planning department have been consulted and any proposed development has already been taken into account. However, it is not anticipated that the increase in most of the areas concerned will make a noticeable difference. If at a later date this changes, the arrangements can be reviewed again.

By conducting this statutory review of polling places, local authorities must demonstrate that they have, as far as is practicable, met the criteria set out in legislation:

Reasonable facilities accessible to all electors

Local authorities must:

  1. seek to ensure that all the electors in the constituency have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances

  2. seek to ensure that so far as is reasonable and practicable, the polling places for which they are responsible are accessible to all electors, including those who are disabled, and when considering the designation of a polling place, must have regard to the accessibility needs of people with disabilities.

    • Disability Discrimation Act.
      Salisbury District Council is mindful of the Disability Discrimination Act which came into force in 2005 and acknowledges that caravans or motorhomes are not suitable venues to use as polling stations. Issues with steps mean they are not accessible by wheelchair users or those using walking aids. On a positive note all our polling staff are instructed to be as helpful as possible and will go to a voter if they are unable to enter the polling station for any reason. They are also trained to be sympathetic to individual's needs and use discretion at all times. However, there is often little or no opportunity to find suitable alternative premises and they are used as a last resort in order to retain the location of voting that benefits the voter overall.
    • Assistance for Partially Sighted or Blind Voters.
      A special piece of equipment called a Selector Device is available at all polling stations. This can be used by anyone who uses Braille or who can feel panels that lift up over each candidates' voting box. This means that with verbal assistance from either a companion or the polling station staff, voters who are partially sighted or blind are able to vote for themselves.Large print ballot papers are also available in polling stations as posters and on the table where voters obtain their ballot papers.

  3. establish the areas where there is proposed new development that might have an impact on the voting arrangements in that particular area.

    The Electoral Registration Team continually assess polling stations. In particular, they address issues as and when they are brought to their attention and especially following an election if any comments are received from relevant stakeholders. Therefore, it is anticipated that this review will reaffirm the current arrangements in most cases and that little change may be necessary following consultation.

Comments from Returning Officers

Comments have already been sought from the Acting Returning Officers for the Salisbury and Westbury (part) Constituencies on both the current and proposed polling station arrangements (as per the attached schedule). Read the Adobe PDFComments of Salisbury District Council's Returning Officer 17kb. These are also the comments of the Returning Officer for all other elections held within the Salisbury district.

Westbury Constituency Returning Officer comments will follow shortly.

Glossary of terms

Parliamentary constituencies
The geographical areas used to elected members of parliament to the House of Commons. These cannot be changed by the review. The division of these constituencies into polling districts and places is the subject of the review.
Polling district
The area created by the division of a constituency, ward or division into smaller parts, within which a polling place that convenient to electorscan be determined. For the purposes of this review, each parish is designated as a separate polling district.
Polling place:
The building or area in which polling stations will be selected by the Returning Officer. For the purposes of this review, in general polling places are the same area as designated by the polling district.
Polling station
The room or building where the poll takes place. It is chosen by the Returning Officer for the election and publicised on the Notice of Poll or the Notice of Situation of Polling Stations and communicated via poll card after the Notice of Election. The Returning Officer must make a formal comment as part of this review both into the existing polling stations used and the polling stations that would probably be used based on any newly recommended polling places.

What was not being reviewed

The following are not covered by the review:

  • The boundaries of UK parliamentary constituencies. Authorities with impending parliamentary boundary changes must focus their review on the current arrangements and not the new boundaries which will, in due course, come into effect. Practically it might be reasonable to consider what any change to the parliamentary arrangements may require, although the polling arrangements that would be required due to any future boundary changes are a different process
  • The borders and names of local authorities and electoral areas within local authorities.

How to decide on polling districts and polling places

The law says that all electors should have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances. The place for voting must be accessible for all electors including those with disabilities. The polling station should be easy to find and as close to electors as possible. It should also have suitable facilities for the election staff working at the venue on polling day.

Polling places should be within the polling district unless it is not possible to find a suitable place within the area.

Administrators should decide on the appropriate number of electors per polling station and place, ensuring that different types of elections and turnout would not suffer if, for example, a venue was used as a joint polling station.

Timetable of the review

  • Review begins: 26 November 2007
  • Representations/consultation deadline: 18 January 2008
  • Publication of results and final recommendations: by end February 2008
  • Implementation of changes to the Register (and if necessary publication of revised version of the Register): end February 2008

Contact details:

Telephone:
01722 434230

email:
elections@salisbury.gov.uk...

Postal address:
The Electoral Services Team
Salisbury District Council
PO Box 2117
Salisbury
SP2 2DF