Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:02 pm on 23 June 2021.
Minister, during my election count in May, council officers and volunteers were verifying and counting ballots for the Senedd constituency vote, the Senedd regional vote, police and crime commissioner election, and votes for council and community council by-elections. Going forward, it's not an unrealistic expectation to see a scenario where every one of these ballots could be counted under a different voting system. Does the Minister agree that this is a scenario that should be avoided, as not only will it lead to confusion amongst the electorate but it will hamper efforts to increase engagement in those democratic processes such as local council elections, that already struggle with voter turnout?