The third part of this series on democracy and independence looks at one of the more important elements: elections and voting.
How are elections in Wales currently run?
There are four main players:
- The Electoral Commission – Oversee electoral arrangements and regulation at an all-UK level, as well as the register of political parties and campaigners (Part II).
- Local Government – Handles the practical aspects of elections including candidate nominations, maintaining the electoral register, running polling stations, printing ballot papers and postal votes, counting votes and declaring results. The Chief Executive of each of the 22 unitary authorities acts as a local Returning Officer – the person in charge of running an election on the ground.
- (Local) Democracy & Boundary Commission – At present, it’s the body responsible for setting the boundaries for local government wards and Senedd constituencies. However, as part of the Elections & Elected Bodies Bill, it’s set to become the main administrative and coordination body for Welsh local government and Senedd elections.
- Boundary Commission for Wales – Sets and reviews Westminister constituency boundaries; after independence this wouldn’t be relevant.
The Electoral Commission & Wales
Electoral arrangements at local government and Senedd level were devolved in 2017. The (Senedd’s) Llywydd’s Committee is responsible for overseeing the Electoral Commission’s devolved work in Wales.
Some elements that remain non-devolved include:
- Elections to the UK Parliament, Police & Crime Commissioner elections and arrangements for/regulation of UK-wide referendums (after independence this wouldn’t be relevant).
- Registration of political parties and general functions of the Electoral Commission (i.e. recording donations) – see Part II.
- The Electoral Commission’s enforcement powers and punishments for election-related offences.
- The digital system used for the electoral register – though it’s subject to Welsh language requirements.
The Electoral Commission planned to spend £26.3million across the UK in 2024-255. The majority of the funding will come from the UK Parliament (88%), with the Senedd making a £1.25million contribution (5.4%). Naturally, its budget varies depending on whether elections are due or not.
The Electoral Commission at the UK level is managed by a group of 10 Commissioners – one of whom has direct responsibility for Wales. They’re answerable to a Board.
What are the options for managing elections after independence?
For practical reasons, many elements would likely remain unchanged – including the role of local government in electoral arrangements.
However, there’s a debate to be had over whether acting as a Returning Officer should be considered part of a council Chief Executive’s role, and covered by their existing pay, rather than something they charge a fee for.
As for the rest:
- Maintain separate election regulation and boundary commissions (2 agencies) – The Electoral Commission would continue as is with its Cardiff office. This shouldn’t be that difficult but may require additional specialist roles currently based in London to be replicated here. The Democracy & Boundary Commission would act as a national co-ordinator between returning officers and the agency that sets election boundaries.
- Maintain separate election regulation, election co-ordinator and boundary commissions (3 agencies) – As above, except the Electoral Commission would remain stand-alone, while the Democracy & Boundary Commission would be split into two agencies – one focusing on co-ordination between Returning Officers; the other setting electoral boundaries.
- Create a single independent electoral administration agency (Single agency) – This is probably the sensible choice and would effectively mean the present Electoral Commission merging into the soon-to-be-beefed-up Democracy & Boundary Commission.
As for costs, a proportional share of the UK Electoral Commission 2024-25 spending plans – based on population – would be around £1.3million, so only a bit more than the Senedd currently contributes. In an election year, this might go up to £1.5-1.6million.
The operating expenditure of the Local Democracy & Boundary Commission was £1.2million in 2022-236.
So you would expect a single electoral regulator would cost around £2.7-2.8million a year to run -the combined costs of the Electoral Commission and Local Democracy & Boundary Commission’s activities in Wales.
How much do elections in Wales cost?
The 2021 Senedd election cost £4.6million7 – which gives you a ballpark figure for a national-level election. An additional £600,000 was added to the costs due to Covid-19 measures.
The cost of the 2017 UK general election was just under £141million (UK-wide figure)8. There’s no Wales-only figure, but based on the total costs submitted by Returning Officers (£98.3million) on a per-constituency basis (40 out of 650), you would expect the proportional Wales-only figure to be around £6million, or £4.9million based on population share.
The cost of local government elections and by-elections (at all levels) will vary, so there’s no definite figure.
5. Electoral Commission. “Corporate Plan for Wales 2022/23 to 2026/27”, Chapter 9: “Managing our costs in Wales”. Available at: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/about-us/our-plans-priorities-and-spending/corporate-plan-wales-2022/23-2026/27/9-managing-our-costs-wales
6. Local Democracy & Boundary Commission (12th December 2023). “Annual Report & Financial Statement 2022-23” (p36). Available at: https://d34hss7hg6i3n.cloudfront.net/publications/LDBCW-Final-Accounts-AR-2022-23-Web.pdf
7. Welsh Government (September 2023). “Senedd election costs: 2021”. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/senedd-elections-costs-2021
8. UK Parliament, Chris Skidmore MP (13th September 2017). “Written Statement: Cabinet Office Consolidated Fund Standing Service”. Available at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2017-09-13/HCWS130
