Dirprwy Lywydd, last July I published a clear framework for electoral reform with six principles reflecting the values of social justice and the value we place upon democracy in Wales: equity, accessibility, participation, improved citizen experience, simplicity and integrity. The White Paper we are publishing today asks for views on these principles. We want to use these clear principles as a benchmark or to benchmark electoral reform and guide our work to support democratic engagement and participation, and we want to make sure they command broad support.

Just over five months ago, we successfully delivered a set of electoral innovations at the May local elections in partnership with four authorities and the wider electoral community. First, we supported four councils piloting new ways of voting, giving people increased flexibility on the time and location of voting. We maximised voter registration by investing in increased capacity in local authority election teams, and tailored communications to target newly enfranchised groups. We supported the third sector and schools in engaging better with young people by providing opportunities to increase awareness and understanding of politics and citizenship. Finally, we introduced changes aimed at improving postal vote statement error rates. So, we're trying new things in Wales and learning lessons from our efforts with partners that share our ambition of increasing democratic health in Wales.

Having completed the cycle of Senedd and local government ordinary elections, the time is now right to accelerate our reform agenda in anticipation of the next major devolved elections in 2026 and 2027. Our White Paper sets out an ambitious long-term vision agenda for modernising electoral administration and wider electoral reform, supporting delivery of our programme for government commitment to reform local government elections to reduce the democratic deficit. This complements work under way to deliver the reform of the Senedd that Members have agreed for 2026 onwards.

So, we invite views on a mixture of non-legislative propositions to promote engagement in elections, to make standing for election safer and more straightforward. We also want to know what voters think about our proposals for legislation to modernise the administration of elections, improve the conduct of electoral and community reviews for local government, and consolidate electoral law, to be introduced during this Senedd. Finally, we set out our longer term propositions for electoral reform to support Welsh democracy in the future. Our proposals stand in contrast to many of the actions pursued by the UK Government, which seem designed to make it harder for people to vote in UK elections. I want to be clear: our priority is maximising participation, rather than creating barriers in tackling a phantom of electoral fraud.

May I turn to look to some of the highlights in the White Paper? In support of our principle of accessibility, we set out measures to support disabled voters and ways to support more diverse candidates for elected office, including extending the access to elected office fund, and measures to support candidate safety. To support our principle of participation, we set out how automatic voter registration could operate, which we want to pilot. We also ask for views on improved information for voters, and to set out improvements to how electoral reviews are conducted. In support of our principle of equity, we ask whether more should be done to treat English and Welsh equally in the electoral process, and to make suggestions for how we can improve under-registration for people like students. To support our principle of an improved citizen experience, we ask whether voting should be taken forward following our pilots, and how existing processes like proxy or absent voting could be improved as part of a clear vision for digital democracy. To support our principle of simplicity, we suggest restating the franchise for Welsh elections to reduce complexity, and ask about harmonising campaign finance requirements for devolved and reserved elections. And to support our principle of integrity, we propose creating a new electoral management board to ensure resilience in how elections are administered, and a merger of the independent remuneration panel and the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales to build on their existing strengths. 

The Welsh Government is deeply grateful to all those who make our democracy work, from the people who put themselves forward to work for their community as candidates for electoral office, to the administrators that work so hard behind the scenes throughout the year to make sure that our democratic processes work smoothly, and to everyone who explains how the system works to their friends, neighbours and young people, and to the voters at the heart of our democracy.

We've only had responsibility for Welsh elections for four years, and building a twenty-first century electoral system that increases voter participation, so that every citizen can play a full part in our democracy, will take time. I look forward to hearing from views across the country on our White Paper—voters, administrators, campaigners and experts. Our democracy belongs to us all, and we all have a stake in making sure that it is fit for the future. Diolch yn fawr.