3. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services: Reforming Electoral Arrangements in Local Government

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:46 pm on 30 January 2018.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 3:46, 30 January 2018

Diolch, Llywydd. I disagree with Janet Finch-Saunders that we should simplify the postal vote verification system. We have to make sure that the person who's casting the vote is the person who's entitled to do so. But I do wonder whether—. I agree that many votes are actually put in the bin because they haven't filled in the form properly, and I wondered whether we can consider sending back that vote to the person who failed to complete the verification, explaining that the vote was null and void, and that would then possibly enable them to consider not voting by post next time.

I think people with literacy or learning difficulties should be discouraged from voting by post because it's much simpler to go to a polling station, where all they've got to do is find the candidate they wish to vote for on the list. But I do think your proposals around electronic voting and different days for voting enable us to ensure that people who have difficulty going to a particular place, which is open for 15 hours—. We could have roving voting polling stations, for example, in care homes or in supermarkets for very short periods of time, which would enable people who have difficulty walking to the polling station—enable the polling station to come to them. That is what electronic voting systems would enable us to do.

When you're thinking about how we actually improve the accuracy of the electoral register, don't let's just think of school students, but those who are providing homecare ought to be able to automatically register somebody who'd dropped off the register because of their illness. Registered care homes and nursing homes ought to be obliged to register people who become their residents, who may indeed have difficulties conducting that sort of registration electronically.

I'm happy to see—