House of Lords
The House of Lords Constitution Committee has published a small report on the rights of voters who are in the queue when a polling station closes. The report calls upon the government to change the law to ensure a repeat of what was seen in 2005 is not repeated.
In June, last year, the committee took evidence from the Electoral Commission and agreed that the law is unsatisfactory in this area and should be changed. The Constitution Committee state that the law should be changed to ensure that, “Voters who are present, or in a queue, at a polling station at the close of polls are entitled to vote”.
The Law Commission, the body responsible for reviewing and recommending changes to laws, are currently reviewing electoral law. However, the Law Commission is not to report on their findings until 2017. The Constitution Committee has called upon the government to address this issue before the next general election in May 2015.
Commenting Baroness Jay, Chairman of the Lords Constitution Committee, said:
“If we are to ensure there is never a repeat of the chaotic scenes we saw in 2010 the Government must now amend the law to ensure voters in a polling station, or in the queue at a polling station, at 10pm on polling day are allowed to vote.
“This cannot wait for a Law Commission review that doesn’t report until 2017, the Government should make these changes before the next general election.”
