§ The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
In its report Voting for change: An electoral law modernisation programme, the Electoral Commission has made proposals and recommendations for electoral reform to address the needs of the voter and make elections more accessible; to protect the integrity of the democratic process; and to modernise electoral registers. The commission advocates the modernisation of registers, which would involve the introduction of individual registration, a building block on which safe and secure arrangements for voting away from polling stations could be delivered.
Our response welcomes many of the Electoral Commission's recommendations and sets out our priorities for change. They are focused on three key outcomes: engaging more people in the political process; building public confidence in the electoral system; and delivering electoral services in a way that is more efficient and more responsive to the needs of the voter.
We are committed to maintaining the security and integrity of the electoral process and to enhancing its openness and transparency. We will ensure that any innovative methods of voting that are introduced will be as secure—if not more secure—than the traditional methods. Specifically, we propose, when parliamentary time allows, to introduce measures to make ballot papers more secure; to establish new offences around electoral fraud and personation; to provide for clear English guidance to accompany postal ballot papers and for guidance to key statutory forms to be available in different languages and alternative formats for those who need them; and to give greater access to observers at polling stations and at other stages of the electoral process, such as the count.
We are sympathetic to the principles of individual registration and appreciate the benefits that it might bring, but we are concerned about maintaining a simple and clear system and comprehensive registers. We are therefore considering the options to support voting away from polling stations with an approach that preserves the completeness and integrity of electoral registers.
We hope that the publication of this response will substantially move forward the modernisation agenda for elections. Copies of this government response to the Electoral Commission's report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.