Election day could be election week in 2020

The idea is one of several being looked into by the States’ Assembly and Constitution Committee as it sets about paving the way for the first island-wide election of deputies in June that year when the electorate will vote for all 38 States members.

Committee president Neil Inder gave a short presentation to 16 States members at Les Cotils yesterday, ahead of a workshop during which they were able to discuss the options.

‘If we carried on with a parish [polling station] system I think we would break the election by midday on polling day,’ he said, putting forward the suggestion of polling being available earlier.

As well as having polls open a week in advance at sites such as the North Beach, he said it could also be possible to have the parish stations open the day before election day, but this would require negotiation with the douzaines.

There could also be the option of people being able to vote electronically, which, he said, Sacc was considering.

But a team of counters would still be needed for manual counting if a recount was required.

The nomination period was extended during the run-up to the last election because of when Easter fell. However, in 2020 it is proposed that this be only five days.

Much of the presentation was given over to how manifestos could be circulated to islanders on the electoral roll and the anticipated costs involved.

Deputy Inder said that the days of a candidate’s relatives sitting in a kitchen helping them stuff envelopes for distribution in the electoral district were over, and he offered possible alternatives.

The method adopted in Jersey was for a single publication containing all the manifestos, delivered to the relevant properties.

There were currently just over 17,000 homes listed in the electoral roll, he said, occupied by some 32,000 voters.

Assuming the single publication was chosen, it could cost between £35,000 and £60,000 for printing, packaging and postage. If it was decided that individual candidates would handle their own manifestos, Deputy Inder said that cost was likely to be between about £6,000 and £9,600 per person.

Depending on where printing took place – he was not sure if it could be done locally – it was possible that the manifestos would not get to the electorate before about a week ahead of the election.

But it was pointed out that the manifestos would also be made available online and via the local media.

Feedback had previously been sought from members about what changes might be made to the 1948 election law before 2020, and various ideas had been put forward including that of lowering the eligible age of candidates to 18 and reviewing the residential requirements needed.

There was also the issue of how to handle by-elections, from giving a seat made vacant to the person who finished 39th in the original poll, or perhaps waiting until there were three or more seats vacant, rather than triggering an island-wide by-election for a single seat when one was vacated.