Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, we have a duty to divide Bath and North East Somerset into polling districts and to designate a polling place for each polling district.
- "Polling districts" are geographical electoral areas into which wards may be sub-divided
- "Polling places" are the buildings or areas where electors in a polling district go to vote
- "Polling stations" are the issuing desks in the building or area which is designated the polling place
The Electoral Administration Act 2006, as amended, introduced a duty on all local authorities in Great Britain to review their polling districts and polling places at least once every five years. The next compulsory review must be undertaken within a 16-month window between 1 October 2023 and 31 January 2025.
In June 2023 the Boundary Commission for England concluded their review of parliamentary constituency boundaries. Once the Orders for the new parliamentary constituencies have been made, by 1 November 2023, the new boundaries will be used for the next parliamentary election, which must take place before 28 January 2025.
It is important that the polling district and polling places review is carried out as early as possible, and that the Council has a polling scheme in place which reflects the new constituencies in time for the next parliamentary election, as well as the Police and Crime Commissioner election on 2 May 2024.
Timing of the review
The compulsory polling districts and polling places review will commence on Monday 23 October 2023.
It is intended that alterations to polling districts be timed to coincide with the publication of the revised electoral register on 1 December 2023. This therefore requires a compact timetable, which has been outlined below.
| Activity | Date |
|---|---|
| Publication of notice of review | Monday 23 October 2023 |
| Formal consultation begins | Monday 23 October 2023 |
| Formal consultation closes | Monday 20 November 2023 |
| Council meeting | Thursday 30 November 2023 |
| Publication of electoral register (including any new/amended polling districts) | Friday 1 December 2023 |
The review process
The process for a polling district and polling places review is set out in schedule A1 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. We are legally obligated to:
- publish a notice of the holding of a review
- consult the Acting Returning Officer (ARO) for every Parliamentary constituency which is wholly or partly within the area
- publish all representations made by an ARO within 30 days of receipt
- seek representations from those who we think have particular expertise in relation to accessibility for people with different forms of disability
On completion of the review, we must give reasons for our decisions, and publish:
- all correspondence sent to an ARO in connection with the review
- all correspondence sent to anyone whom we think has particular expertise in relation to accessibility for people with different forms of disability
- all representations made by any person in connection with the review
- the minutes for any meeting held by the Council to consider any revision to the designation of polling districts or places within its area as a result of the review
- details of the designation of polling districts and places within the local authority area as a result of the review
- details of the places where the results of the review have been published
The current polling scheme
Click here to view Appendix 1 (current polling arrangements)