ISE11/15-16

• In Hong Kong, the Electoral Affairs Commission ("EAC") is empowered to designate certain venues as polling stations in Legislative Council and District Council Elections^{1Legend symbol denoting See section 28 of the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) Regulation (Cap. 541D) and section 31 of the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (District Councils) Regulation (Cap. 541F).}, but it has to obtain the consent from the owners or management bodies concerned beforehand. Local polling stations are thus mostly located in public facilities such as schools, community centres, sports centres and social service centres. In the most recent District Council Election held in November 2015, there were some 580 ordinary polling stations in the territory. Relative to the 3.6 million registered electors, some 6 000 registered electors were assigned to each polling station on average.
• In selection of venues for polling stations, EAC has two overriding principles, namely convenience to electors and accessibility to persons with disabilities ("PWD"). These resulted in a visible rise in the ratio of barrier-free polling stations, from 59% in the Legislative Council Election in 2004 to 94% in the District Council Election in 2011, according to the latest statistics available. That said, there are occasional requests from electors for the provision of polling stations closer to their registered addresses. The topic on venue selection of polling stations has been frequently discussed at the Panel on Constitutional Affairs in recent years.^{2Legend symbol denoting For instance, the issue on venue selection for polling stations has been recently discussed at the meetings of the Panel on Constitutional Affairs held on 18 May 2015 and 16 November 2015.}
• For the convenience of both electors and candidates, it is noted that local authorities in the United Kingdom ("UK") have a mandatory responsibility to conduct compulsory review of their polling places^{3Legend symbol denoting In the UK, polling places usually refer to buildings or premises assigned for polling purpose, while polling stations are rooms or parts of the buildings where electors cast their votes. There may be more than one polling station at a polling place.} every five years, while electors in Australia have flexible options on where and how to cast their votes. This issue of Essentials provides a quick overview on the unique features of electoral arrangement with respect to location of polling places in these two countries.

Compulsory review of polling places in the UK

• Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, local authorities in the UK are required to designate certain places as polling places and keep them under regular review. In the general election held in May 2015, there were some 50 000 polling places across the UK. Relative to the total of 46.4 million registered electors in the country, some 1 000 electors were assigned to each polling place on average.
• Similar to Hong Kong, convenience and accessibility are of paramount importance in identifying a place as the polling place in the UK. According to the guidelines of the Electoral Commission^{4Legend symbol denoting See Electoral Commission (2007).}, polling places should be placed in central location with convenient transport links, preferably within reasonable walking distance for most electors. In addition, they need to be accessible to PWD and be large enough to accommodate the flows of voters.^{5Legend symbol denoting Most polling places in the UK are located in public facilities like schools, village halls, churches and community centres. Yet in some rural areas where public facilities are not conveniently located, "fish and chip shops, pubs, temples and supermarkets" have also been used as polling places. See Electoral Commission (2004).}
• One of the key features of the electoral arrangement of the UK is the compulsory review of polling places conducted by local authorities. Ever since the amendment of the Representation of the People Act 1983 in 2007, local authorities have to conduct the compulsory review at least once every four years. Frequency of this review was then revised to once every five years from October 2013 onwards.^{6Legend symbol denoting In 2013, the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 amended section 18 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 to introduce a change to the timing of compulsory reviews of the UK Parliamentary polling districts and polling places. Subsequent compulsory reviews must be carried out and completed within the period of 16 months beginning with 1 October 2013 and 1 October of every fifth year thereafter.}
• Based on the guidelines issued by the Electoral Commission, the key procedures of the compulsory review are summarized below:
  
  

  (a)	Preliminary review by local authorities: Local authorities need to review the suitability of the existing polling places and identify any potential substitutes if necessary. Local authorities need to consider all the relevant factors like location, site area, accessibility to PWD and venue availability on the election day in the review, and to demonstrate their reasoning behind its preliminary review decision.
  (b)	Consultation with the public and stakeholders: Local authorities can then notify the public and stakeholders (i.e. electors, candidates, elected representatives, political parties and PWD) the upcoming review within a specified limit of 16 months. While stakeholders are free to make comments on the proposed arrangements of polling places, it is mandatory for the returning officer of the constituency concerned to make a submission which is required to be published in at least one conspicuous place in the constituency and on the local council's website.
  (c)	Publication of the review results: Taking into account all of the representations and subject to approval by the local council, the local authorities can then come up with their final decision with respect to the choice of polling places. The finalized review decision, along with the reasoning for the choice of polling places, is required to be published to the public at the local authority offices both online and offline.
  (d)	Appeal procedure: In case individuals are not satisfied with the finalized review of the local authority, they can make representations to the Electoral Commission. However, such representations may be made on two grounds only, namely when the local authority (i) could not meet the reasonable requirements of the electors; and (ii) could not take sufficient account of accessibility of the polling places to PWD. If the appeal is proved to be well-substantiated, the Electoral Commission may direct the local authority to make necessary alterations to the polling places.

• This compulsory review mechanism seems to be able to take on board the public concerns in the final selection of polling places in the UK. In the 2015 general election, the Electoral Commission only issued six decisions with regard to the review appeals on polling places, out of the stock of 50 000 polling places. More specifically on these six appeal cases, three cases resulted in a change or creation of new polling places, while two were about inability of the local councils to complete the compulsory review within the time limit of 16 months. For the remaining case, the Electoral Commission ruled that the local council concerned had already met the reasonable requirements of the electors.

Flexible measures on venue of polling in Australia

• In Australia, all citizens aged 18 and above are required by law to cast their votes in election, or else they could face penalty like imprisonment or fines.^{7Legend symbol denoting In Australia, it is compulsory for all Australian citizens aged 18 and over to register as electors and vote in federal elections, by-elections and referendums.} While the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 sets out the responsibilities of the Electoral Commissioner to designate certain places as polling places, it does not specify the selection criteria and logistics. In line with global practice, the polling places are usually located at such convenient places as schools, church halls and public buildings. In the federal election held in 2013, there were altogether 9 146 polling places in Australia. Relative to the 14.7 million registered electors, some 1 600 electors were assigned to each polling place on average.
• It seems that location of polling places has not been a key electoral issue in Australia, as it is rarely discussed at the election review reports, local councils or the Parliament. To a considerable extent, this may be attributable to a host of flexible electoral arrangements especially early voting in Australia, as summarized below.
  
  

  (a)	Voting in any polling places within the constituency: In Australia, electors may vote at any polling places in their constituency (i.e. electoral division) which on average comprises 55 polling places. As the list of electors is available online, the polling officials can easily verify the identity of the electors and issue the ballot papers accordingly. Electors can then choose from a long list of polling places which best fit their itineraries on the election day.
  (b)	Early voting at pre-poll voting centres before the election day: Electors in Australia have an option to vote in person at selected pre-poll voting centres prior to the election day since 1984. The pre-poll period usually lasts for about 20 days, starting from four days after the end of the nomination of candidates and ending the day before the election day. Any elector can walk in the pre-poll voting centres for early voting.8Legend symbol denoting To cast a pre-poll vote, an elector has to visit a pre-poll voting centre in person, sign the pre-poll certificate and cast the vote. Prior to 2010, electors were required to complete a declaration by giving their personal details to apply for pre-poll voting. Such arrangement has no longer been required since 2010. To encourage early voting, pre-poll voting centres are usually situated in highly convenient locations with heavy traffic, including airports and shopping centres. Opening hours of the pre-poll voting centres in shopping complexes can also be lengthened to 12 hours from 8:30 am to 8:30 pm to facilitate voting in some cases. During 2001-2013, the number of pre-poll voting centres has doubled from 306 to 645, and its ratio to the ordinary polling places on the election day likewise increased from 4% to 7%. The more flexible early voting arrangement seems to be well-received in Australia, with the number of pre-poll votes in the federal election quadrupled from 0.6 million in 2001 to 2.5 million in 2013. The ratio of pre-poll votes in total votes likewise surged from 5% to 19%. According to the Australian Parliament, more electors find it difficult to vote on Saturday (i.e. the election day) due to work commitment. More convenient location of pre-poll voting centres is cited as another contributory factor.
  (c)	Postal voting: Or else, electors in Australia may choose to cast their vote by post implemented since 1902, mainly assisting those electors to overcome the geographical barrier in voting or early voting. By and large, postal voters are those who (i) live in places far away from any polling places; (ii) have serious illness or infirmity; (iii) expect a childbirth; (iv) cannot obtain a leave from work; and (v) live or work outside Australia during the election period. During 2001-2013, the number of postal votes has increased by some 40% from 0.5 million to 0.7 million, while its ratio in total votes held steady at 4% to 5%.

Observations

• In the UK, it is the statutory duty for local authorities to conduct the mandatory review of polling places once every five years. Local authorities need to conduct extensive consultation of all key stakeholders including electors and candidates before finalizing the venues for polling. An appeal mechanism is in place for electors to make representations to the review results if necessary.
• Electors in Australia have more flexible options on where and how to cast their votes. They may choose to (a) vote in any polling places within the constituency; (b) vote early at fewer but more conveniently located pre-poll voting centres before the election day; or (c) vote by post.

Prepared by YU Chun-ho
Research Office
Information Services Division
Legislative Council Secretariat
3 March 2016