Chief Secretary's Office

Crown and Elections Cabinet Office Government Office Bucks Road DOUGLAS Isle of Man IM1 3PN Tel: 15 November 2016 Website Committee Secretariat Legislative Buildings Finch Road Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PW Request for written evidence - Tynwald Select Committee on the General Election Further to the request from the Committee Secretariat dated 20 October 2016, I have pleasure in submitting the requested evidence on behalf of the Cabinet Office. I can confirm that this submission and the supplied Appendix can be published in full. Background 1. Properly administered elections in accordance with legislation are an important element in maintaining the Island’s international reputation and the public’s confidence in the democratic process. The Isle of Man’s General Elections are administered by the Cabinet Office in accordance with the Representation of the People Act 1995, the Registration of Electors Act 2006 and the Representation of the People Regulations 2015. 2. The independence of the electoral process is of paramount importance. His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor has responsibility for issuing the writ, which initiates an election. Officers within the Crown and Elections Unit of Cabinet Office provide administrative support. Returning Officers are appointed by the Governor, for a 5 year term of office. The legislation states:- “It is the duty of a returning officer to do everything at an election which is necessary for effectually conducting the election in accordance with election regulations.” 3. Returning officers are a key aspect in delivering elections. It has been long standing practice, in order to ensure independence from Government, for Returning Officers to be local advocates nominated by the Isle of Man Law Society, although there is no legal requirement for this to be the case. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit returning officers to carry out this vital role, with a number of returning officers resigning in the period following the 2011 general election. It should be appreciated that the work involved and the remuneration for the role results in advocates incurring a significant financial loss against potential earnings, although some advocates balance that against performing a civic duty for the good of the Isle of Man. 4. For the 2016 General Election there were significant difficulties in securing the services of sufficient Returning Officers, notwithstanding that the number required had been reduced from 15 to 12 as a result of the new constituencies. In order to ensure sufficient Returning Officers were appointed for the General Election, the Crown and Elections Unit worked closely with the Isle of Man Law Society. To reduce the administrative burden on Returning Officers it was agreed the Crown and Elections Unit would take on many of the administrative tasks which are the duty of the Returning Officer. Many of the Returning Officers for the 2016 General Election had not performed that role before, although most had had some sort of involvement in the election process in previous years. Work of the Crown and Elections Unit 5. Officers in the Crown and Elections Unit provide support to the Returning Officers in supplying them with all of the materials, stationery and equipment necessary to carry out their statutory duties. This is a major logistical operation with numerous boxes being prepared for each Returning Officer with all necessary equipment, stationery and supplies for them to process advance votes, separate boxes for each polling station and further boxes for each counting station. Polling booths, ballot boxes and ramps (which there was considerable difficulty in sourcing) are also delivered Island wide. 6. The Crown and Elections Unit undertook significant work for the 2016 election to improve accessibility of the election. A significant number of the polling stations selected by Returning Officers were not accessible for persons in wheelchairs. The Crown and Elections Unit undertook sourcing of ramps so that nearly all of the polling stations were accessible. Tactile voting devices were sourced and distributed to all polling stations to assist the visually impaired in casting their ballot in secret; no longer reliant on the polling station staff to assist. 7. For the 2016 General Election the Crown and Elections Unit undertook additional tasks previously the responsibility of the Returning Officer. These included making bookings for the 45 different buildings used as polling stations1, ordering and printing ballot papers for each constituency and issuing the Notice of Poll as required by the legislation. No additional staff, save for a summer student, were allocated to the Crown and Elections Unit to undertake this additional work. 8. The election website (www.gov.im/elections) was redesigned and continually updated throughout the election period. Candidates were able to submit their manifestos for display on the website, in accordance with the Representation of the People Act 1995. The website was a popular source of information used by the public, parties and candidates during the election period. The website contained copies of the various guidance documents issued: Guidance to Candidates Election Funding Guidance A Guide to Voting 9. Further additional tasks for the Crown and Elections Unit arose in relation to new provisions for candidates relating to donations and expenses. All prospective candidates were contacted as and when they publically declared to advise them of the new provisions and provide a copy of the relevant Guidance and to direct them to the website where they could find additional information on these requirements and relevant legislation. 10. Thereafter a register was required to be prepared for General Registry detailing all donations received, including nil returns. This was a new requirement of the Act for the 2016 election which meant that as the register was open for public inspection 7 days before the poll, voters could cast their ballot with the knowledge of who had been funding the campaign (if at all) of their preferred candidate. 1 On the decision of the Returning Officer 2 Voter Turnout 11. The Isle of Man, like many western democracies, has seen a continuing downward decline in voter turnout. For a significant number of people there is also a lack of trust in government and politicians and a disconnect from the political arena as it affects their daily lives. 12. Cognisant of this downturn in voter turnout the Crown and Elections Unit, together with the Cabinet Office Corporate Communications Service, undertook a major promotional campaign using a broad range of communication tools and media, to raise awareness of the election and to highlight the importance of voting. The Department of Education and Children also played its part in raising youth awareness by producing a colourful interactive guide and running “hustings” events in schools. 13. Messages supporting the campaign to raise public awareness of the election process and to encourage voting were delivered by the Corporate Communications Service through various means, including news releases, brochures, interviews with local radio and television news and special interest programmes, contributions to the election webpages hosted by local media, and a 30 minute BBC news programme about the Isle of Man election. The impact of the BBC programme was so great that it prompted international interest (from the Guardian, New York Times and WNYC radio) in the Isle of Man election. 14. In addition to the public messages, Isle of Man government employees were reached through all- staff bulletins and articles in the quarterly staff newsletter, Update. An exhibition to raise awareness of the election, prepared by the Crown and Elections Unit, was open to the public in the Tynwald Library. 15. The Corporate Communications Service, with the Crown and Elections Unit, prepared an eight- page “Your Guide to Voting” supplement which was distributed with the Isle of Man Examiner (30 August) and Courier (2 September), and was well-received by the public. It provided such information as the official Notice of Poll for each constituency, information on the boundary changes (including a map), advice on the various means of voting, and contact details for Returning Officers and the Election Office. 16. Making use of the Cabinet Office Twitter account, Corporate Communications Service delivered an election awareness campaign from August 5 until about 7pm on election night. During the campaign 60 election-related tweets were sent out from the @IOMGovernment account to more than 7,000 followers. The tweet messages covered such topics as: Encouraging people to ensure they were on the electoral register Encouraging 16 and 17 year olds to register to vote Encouraging people who had moved house to update their voter details How to apply for advance/proxy votes Constituency maps Candidate information Returning Officer contact information Promotion of requisition meetings Promotion of the “Your Guide to Voting” supplement How to vote on the day What to do at the polling station 17. A full record of the communications activities supporting the campaign to raise awareness of the election process and to encourage voting has been complied to assist the Committee with its considerations and is submitted as Appendix 1. The file includes: 3 A calendar of communication activities Media monitor summary of election news coverage News releases Email reminders of requisition meetings Specific media coverage on boundary changes Leaflets Staff newsletters Website elections page Guidance for candidates; guidance for Government Officers Public Notices Tweets @IOMGovernment News releases and staff bulletins with brief mentions of general election Requisition Meetings 18. One of the issues singled out for comment is the promotion of meetings in which the candidates would face questioning from the public. Traditionally these would have been Requisition Meetings called by Captains of the Parish upon a request from a required number of voters that such a meeting be held. The popular and unique Manx custom of requisition meetings has been in existence since the early 1860s.

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