Verification and count information communication protocolReferendum on the voting system for UK Parliamentary elections, 5 May 2011April 2011

Translations and other formatsFor information on obtaining this publication in another language or in a large-print or Braille version please contact the Electoral Commission:

Tel: 020 7271 0500Email: publications@electoralcommission.org.uk

We are an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the democratic process. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections.

Contents 1 Purpose 1

2 Preparation 3

3 Setup and testing of communication systems 7

4 Verification of ballot paper accounts 9

5 Counting local totals 13

6 Certification and declaration of local count totals 18

AppendicesAppendix A Template count totals certificate 21Appendix B Template declaration notice 23

1 Purpose1.1 The purpose of this protocol is to guide Counting Officers and electoral administrators through the process of communicating information about the verification and counting of votes to Regional Counting Officers for the referendum on the voting system for UK Parliamentary elections, to be held on 5 May 2011.

1.2 This protocol is aimed at ensuring a consistent and transparent approach to the communication of information about the verification and counting of votes, and to ensure an accurate result for the UK as a whole.

1.3 Because the result for the UK as a whole is built up from each local count total, it is essential to ensure every local total is accurate and robustly verified – any error in the data for one local voting area may not affect just that area, it could have an impact on the result of the entire referendum.

Overview1.4 The Chief Counting Officer for the referendum, Jenny Watson, has directed that the verification of votes must be completed by 1pm on Friday 6 May 2011, and that the counting of votes must commence at 4pm on 6 May. The Chief Counting Officer has appointed Max Caller CBE, an Electoral Commissioner, as the Deputy Chief Counting Officer, with specific responsibility for overseeing the management of the referendum verification, count and result process.

1.5 Verification and count totals from 439 local Counting Officers across Great Britain will be submitted to 11 Regional Counting Officers, using the Electoral Commission’s Results Collation System. Regional Counting Officers will be responsible for assuring the accuracy of the information provided by Counting Officers, and for managing the process of directing the certification and authorising the local declaration of local count totals.

1.6 Once they have been certified by the Regional Counting Officer, local count totals can be declared and published locally and will also be updated to the Deputy Chief Counting Officer at the referendum result venue in London using the Results Collation System. Information about certified local count totals will be uploaded to the Commission’s referendum result website.

1.7 Once all of the local count totals within each region have been certified, the Regional Counting Officer will submit the total for the

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region as a whole to the Deputy Chief Counting Officer. The Chief Counting Officer will direct the certification and authorise the declaration and publication of the regional count totals by Regional Counting Officers.

1.8 The Chief Electoral Officer will be the Counting Officer for the whole of Northern Ireland, and will submit the verification and count totals for Northern Ireland directly to the Deputy Chief Counting Officer.

1.9 Once all 11 Regional Counting Officers and the Chief Electoral Officer have submitted certified count totals to the Deputy Chief Counting Officer, the Chief Counting Officer will certify and declare the result of the referendum at the referendum result venue in London.

How to use this protocol 1.10As a Counting Officer you should ensure that you, and any staff who will be supporting you, have read this protocol before finalising your plans for carrying out the verification and count for the referendum. You should read this in conjunction with the Chief Counting Officer’s instructions on the count and verification, which are available on the Electoral Commission’s website at:

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/guidance/resources-for-electoral-administrators/referendums/UK-referendum

1.11You should also ensure that the relevant staff have accessed and viewed the e-learning tool1 for the Results Collation System which is available on the Electoral Commission’s website at:

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/guidance/resources-for-electoral-administrators/referendums/UK-referendum/e-learning-tool-for-rcs

1.12Each of the following chapters in this protocol includes a checklist setting out the key communication steps in each stage of the count and verification process. These checklists can be used by Counting Officers or their staff to make sure that the key steps have been completed.

1 In order to run the e-learning tool you will need to have Flash Player installed. If you do not already have it you can download it free of charge from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/.

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2 Preparation Time: no later than 21 April 2011

Contact details2.1 Before 5 May, the Regional Counting Officer will ask you to provide the email address, contact telephone number and fax number that you will be using at your verification and count venue on 5 and 6 May. No later than two weeks before polling day you must ensure that you have provided phone contact details which will allow the Regional Counting Officer to contact you personally during the verification and count process.

Eligible electorate 2.2 After 14 April, the Regional Counting Officer will ask you to provide figures for the eligible referendum electorate for your voting area.

Equipment and set-up2.3 You must ensure that all equipment that you will use at your count venue is tested in advance of the verification and count, including:

public announcement systems telephone lines general IT equipment, including hardware and internet

connections power supply for electrical equipment fax machine

2.4 You must ensure that sufficient time is allocated for setting up. You should prepare a checklist of all materials, including stationery and equipment that will be needed at the verification and count venue.

System Requirements for Results Collation SystemOperating System Microsoft Windows 2000, XP or Vista (not

compatible with the Apple Mac or Linux)

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Spreadsheets Microsoft Excel version 2000, 2002, 2003 or 2007

2.5 The system requirements for Counting Officers to use the Results Collation System are set out above. If you are not able to meet these requirements, you must inform the Regional Counting Officer.

2.6 You must ensure that emails with MS Excel attachments are not blocked by your IT department.

2.7 You must ensure that there is no other reason why emails are blocked, such as because your inbox is full.

2.8 You must ensure that an appropriate internet connection and access to email is present at the site where you plan to send and receive the emails.

2.9 You must ensure that you have access to logon during the whole of the verification and count.

2.10You must have MS Excel installed. The system has been tested with the versions listed above. Later versions should also work as the system uses the standard XLS file format.

2.11You must have in place a standard email system not GCSX secure email.

Back-up and contingency arrangements2.12The Chief Counting Officer has directed2 that you must have contingency arrangements in place in case of an equipment or power failure. There could be an equipment or power failure at any time in your local count centre or at the regional collation venue.

2.13Your contingency arrangements should include the use of:

mobile phones laptops with 3G connection if possible fax machine hard copies of forms you need to complete (available on the

Electoral Commission website)

2.14Manual backup procedures are essential. You should have copies of all the forms you will be required to complete printed out

2 Chief Counting Officer’s Instructions on Verification and Count

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in advance so that in the event of equipment or power failure the forms can be completed by hand.

2.15During the collation of results, you should print off hard copies of material you send to the Regional Counting Officer electronically, and keep hard copy records of results data. These will be needed in the event of failure of electronic systems.

2.16You should ensure that your contingency arrangements enable you to continue to follow the procedures in this protocol manually, that is using phones and fax, if there is a failure of electronic systems.

2.17 In the event that you experience equipment or power failure locally, you must notify the Regional Counting Officer by telephone as quickly as possible. Use the telephone number that will be provided by the Regional Counting Officer.

2.18 In the event that there is equipment or power failure in the regional collation venue, the Regional Counting Officer will notify you by telephone as quickly as possible on the telephone number that you have provided.

Information and announcements at the count centre2.19You should ensure that you have prepared appropriate information to explain the processes you are going to follow during the verification and count to any referendum agents, counting agents and observers who are present. You should include the following information:

Set out the key roles of those who will be conducting the count. At a minimum you should explain your role as Counting Officer and identify, where appropriate, the count management staff and counting assistants.

An explanation of the relationship between the count in your local voting area, the Regional Counting Officer and the Chief Counting Officer, and that each local count total feeds into the result of the referendum for the UK as a whole.

An explanation of the key stages of the count process;

The verification of ballot paper accounts Counting of votes Communication of information with the Regional

Counting Officer and Chief Counting Officer

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Certification and declaration of local count totals

An explanation that certified local count totals will also be published by the Chief Counting Officer on the Electoral Commission’s website.

An explanation that the final result of the referendum will be certified and announced by the Chief Counting Officer at the referendum result venue in London.

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Preparation checklistAction/step Complet

e

CO provides count centre email, phone and fax contact details to RCO CO provides eligible electorate data to RCO CO sets up communication equipment at verification and count venue CO provides back-up and contingency communication equipment CO tests equipment at verification and count venue

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3 Setup and testing of communication systemsTime: no later than 9pm Thursday 5 May 20113.1 Even if you have tested your all communications equipment at the count venue prior to 5 May, you must make sure that it is working on the day. Before commencing verification, you must test all the communication systems in your count venue that you will use to communicate with the Regional Counting Officer on 5 and 6 May, that is:

Telephone lines, including mobile phones Laptops and emails Fax machine

3.2 The Regional Counting Officer will test email communications with you before you commence verification, by sending a ‘Contact and electorate information collection’ email. You must check the electorate information included in the spreadsheet and either confirm or update the figure to take account of any clerical errors corrected up to and including on polling day, by:

Opening the ‘Contact and electorate information’ collection email sent from the Regional Counting Officer via the Results Collation System and selecting ‘Forward’ – do not select ‘Reply’

Opening the spreadsheet contained in the email. Checking the figure in the ‘Electorate’ cell of the spreadsheet

and making any necessary change Saving and closing the spreadsheet Entering the Regional Counting Officer’s contact email address

in the ‘To’ field of the email and selecting ‘Send’

3.3 If you are commencing verification immediately after close of polls at 10pm on Thursday 5 May, you should respond to this email between 9 pm and 10pm on 5 May. If you are commencing verification in the morning of Friday 6 May, you should respond to this email between 8am and 9 am on 6 May.

3.4 The Regional Counting Officer will also test email communications with you again between 3pm and 4 pm on 6 May, before counting commences, by sending a test email to which you should reply to confirm that your email system is working properly.

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Setup and testing checklistAction/step Complet

e

If commencing verification immediately after close of pollCO sets up and tests communication equipment at verification and count venue by 9pm on Thursday 5 May 2011

If commencing verification immediately after close of pollCO receives and checks/updates electorate data contained in ‘Contact and electorate information’ collection email sent by RCO between 9pm and 10pm on Thursday 5 May 2011

If commencing verification on Friday 6 MayCO sets up and tests communication equipment at verification and count venue by 9am on Friday 6 May 2011

If commencing verification on Friday 6 MayCO receives and checks/updates electorate data contained in ‘Contact and electorate information’ collection email sent by RCO between 8am and 9am Friday 6 May 2011

CO receives and responds to pre-count email communications test initiated by RCO between 3pm and 4pm on Friday 6 May 2011

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4 Verification of ballot paper accountsTime: between 10pm Thursday 5 May 2011 and 1pm Friday 6 May 20114.1 The Chief Counting Officer has directed that you must complete the verification of votes by 1pm on Friday 6 May. You must follow the key verification stages set out by the Chief Counting Officer in Section 5 of her instructions to Counting Officers on verification and the count.3

4.2 The Regional Counting Officer will send a ‘Verification figures’ request email to you after 10pm on 5 May 2011, using the Results Collation System. The email will contain a verification spreadsheet that you must complete and return to the Regional Counting Officer.

Informing the Regional Counting Officer about verification discrepancies

The Chief Counting Officer has set out in Section 5 of her instructions to Counting Officers on verification and the count the following procedure which you must undertake and document if a ballot paper account does not reconcile. You must:

a. Make a full check of the arithmetic on the ballot paper account. You must also check the other packets of returned materials and any polling station logbook to try to identify any reason for missing or additional ballot papers. Ensure that returned postal ballots have not been added to the number of votes cast in the polling station. You should consider contacting the Presiding Officer to ask them to try to explain any discrepancies.

b. Check the record of issued ballot boxes to see if more than one ballot box was issued to the polling station and ensure that all boxes allocated to the station are opened and accounted for.

c. Check whether the ballot box has come from a multiple polling station location and, if it has, complete the verification of the ballot paper account(s) for the other polling station(s) within that location to see if there is a compensating error. If the poll has been combined with another poll and where separate ballot boxes have been used for each poll, check the ballot boxes for each poll for all polling stations within the same polling place. The verification of 3 www.electoralcommission.org.uk/guidance/resources-for-electoral-administrators/referendums/UK-referendum

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these ballot paper accounts may indicate a compensating error due to electors placing their ballot paper in the ‘wrong’ box or a box from the wrong polling station.

d. If the ballot box is from a single polling station and separate ballot boxes have been used for each poll, check the ballot box(es) for the other poll(s) for a compensating error.

e. If the ballot box is from a single polling station and only one ballot box has been used, or if the ballot box is from a multiple polling station location but there is no compensating error in the figures from the other polling station(s) in that polling place, recount the ballot papers in the box at least twice or until the same figure is achieved on two consecutive occasions.

f. If, after following the procedures outlined above any discrepancy still remains, you must use the figure of the number of ballot papers counted and recounted by the count staff as the verified figure and make an appropriate note on the ballot paper account.

g. The verified total and the variance between that and the number on the ballot paper account must be added to the statement as to the result of the verification, if possible with an explanation of why that variance has occurred, and should be discussed with any agents and observers present.

Before you complete and sign a statement of the result of the verification, you must ensure that you have informed the Regional Counting Officer if you have identified a variance for any ballot box between the number of ballot papers contained in the ballot box and the number recorded on the ballot paper account as having been issued.

You should send an email or fax to the Regional Counting Officer setting out for each ballot box where a variance remains:

The size of the variance (the number of ballot papers more or less than expected) remaining after you have taken steps to resolve the variance.

The reasons for the variance if known. Confirmation that you have carried out all of the steps set out

above needed to resolve the variance.

If there are no variances for any ballot box in the voting area, you do not need to inform the Regional Counting Officer.

4.3 Once you have completed the verification process – including taking all necessary steps to identify and resolve any discrepancies – and you have informed the Regional Counting Officer of any

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remaining variances, you must complete and sign a statement of the result of the verification.4

4.4 You must then send the verification total (the total number of ballot papers recorded on the verification statement for the voting area as a whole) to the Regional Counting Officer5 by:

Opening the ‘Verification figures’ request email sent from the Regional Counting Officer via the Results Collation System and selecting ‘Forward’ – do not select ‘Reply’

Opening the spreadsheet contained in the email. Entering the verification total into the ‘Verification figure’ cell of

the spreadsheet Saving and closing the spreadsheet Entering the Regional Counting Officer’s contact email address

in the ‘To’ field of the email and selecting ‘Send’

4.5 The Regional Counting Officer will telephone you to check and confirm verbally that the verification total you have sent matches the figure recorded on the statement of the result of the verification for the voting area. The Regional Counting Officer will also confirm with you that you have carried out all of the steps set out in the Chief Counting Officer’s instructions needed to resolve any verification discrepancies.

4.6 Any counting agent present at the verification must be allowed to copy the signed verification statement.6

By law, where the poll for the referendum is combined with the poll for one or more elections, you must not declare any election results until the verification of all ballot paper accounts for the voting area has been completed.7

4 Rule 8(b) Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.5 Rule 10, Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.6 Rule 9 Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.7 Paragraph 46, Schedule 5 to the PVSC Act 2011; Paragraph 51, Schedule 6 to the PVSC Act 2011; Paragraph 50, Schedule 7 to the PVSC Act 2011; Paragraph 37, Schedule 8 to the PVSC Act 2011.

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Verification checklistAction/step Complet

e

CO commences verification process RCO sends ‘Verification figures’ request email to COs Where neededCO sends email or fax to RCO to inform them of any verification discrepancies

CO completes and signs verification statement CO enters provisional total into ‘Verification total’ cell of the spreadsheet and returns email to RCO RCO contacts CO by phone to confirm verification figure CO makes verification statement available to counting agents

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5 Counting local totalsTime: from 4pm Friday 6 May 20115.1 The Chief Counting Officer has directed that you must commence sorting and counting the votes for the referendum at 4pm on Friday 6 May. You must follow the key count stages set out by the Chief Counting Officer in Section 6 of her instructions to Counting Officers on Verification and count.8

5.2 The Regional Counting Officer will send a ‘Count totals ’request email to you after 4pm on 6 May 2011, using the Results Collation System. The email will contain a count totals spreadsheet that you must complete and return to the Regional Counting Officer.

Discussing reconciliation discrepancies with the Regional Counting Officer

The Chief Counting Officer has set out in Section 6 of her instructions to Counting Officers on Verification and count the following procedure which you must undertake and document in order to identify and rectify any discrepancy between the verification total and the provisional count totals. You must:

Check the storage area and check to ensure that all ballot boxes have been opened and are empty.

Check all floors and surfaces for ballot papers that may have been dropped in the count venue.

Re-check the verification figures and reconciliation for calculation mistakes.

Ensure that all rejected ballot papers have been accounted for. Check that all bundles and part bundles have been counted. Consider recounting the ballot papers in the bundles. Carry out any other checks you deem necessary.

Where the provisional count totals for a voting area do not reconcile precisely with the verification total for the area, you must contact the Regional Counting Officer immediately by phone to discuss what further steps should be taken before submitting the provisional count totals for the voting area. The Regional Counting Officer will direct you to implement this procedure – including recounting ballot papers in bundles – where it has not been followed.

If satisfied that you have taken all appropriate steps to identify and rectify any discrepancy between the verification total and the

8 http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/guidance/resources-for-electoral-administrators/referendums

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provisional count totals, the Regional Counting Officer will ask you to submit the provisional count totals for the voting area.

5.3 Once you have completed the counting of votes, if the provisional count totals reconcile with the verification total, you should send the provisional count totals for the voting area to the Regional Counting Officer.9 You must not share information about the provisional count totals with referendum or counting agents before you have sent the information to the Regional Counting Officer. You should:

Open the ‘Count totals’ request email sent from the Regional Counting Officer via the Results Collation System and select ‘Forward’ – do not select ‘Reply’

Open the spreadsheet contained in the email. Enter into the blank ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Rejected at count stage’

cells of the spreadsheet the total number of votes cast in favour of each question, and the number of ballot papers rejected under each heading10

Save and close the spreadsheet Enter the Regional Counting Officer’s contact email address in

the ‘To’ field of the email and select ‘Send’

5.4 The Regional Counting Officer will telephone you to check and confirm verbally that the provisional count totals received match the figures recorded by you and that they reconcile with the verification total. The Regional Counting Officer will also check that you have carried out all of the steps set out in the Chief Counting Officer’s instructions needed to identify and rectify any discrepancy between the provisional count totals and the verification total.

5.5 If satisfied that the provisional count totals reconcile with the verification total, or that you have carried out all of the steps set out in the Chief Counting Officer’s instructions needed to identify and rectify any discrepancy between the provisional count totals and the verification total, the Regional Counting Officer will ask you to share the provisional count totals with referendum or counting agents. You should share with the referendum or counting agents all of the information submitted to the Regional Counting Officer, including the number of ballot papers rejected under each heading.

5.6 If the Regional Counting Officer is not satisfied that you have carried out all of the steps set out in the Chief Counting Officer’s instructions needed to identify and rectify any discrepancy between the verification total and the provisional count totals, they may direct you to implement these steps – including recounting ballot papers in bundles – before re-submitting provisional count totals.9 Rule 43(1), Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.10 Rule 42(4), Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.

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5.7 The Regional Counting Officer may also direct you to conduct a recount (or a further recount) if there is reason to doubt the accuracy of the counting of the votes in your voting area.11 If you are directed to conduct a re-count, you must follow the steps set out in the next box under the heading ‘Providing re-count figures to the Regional Counting Officer’.

Discussing requests for re-counts with the Regional Counting Officer

A referendum agent, or a counting agent who has been designated as a person authorised to require a re-count, may request you to have the votes for that area re-counted (or again recounted).12 You may agree to re-count, or may refuse if you consider the request to be unreasonable. By law, you cannot carry out a re-count once you have been directed by the Regional Counting Officer to certify the count totals for the voting area.13

You must contact the Regional Counting Officer by phone to inform them of any request for a re-count, and to consult them if you intend to refuse a request to re-count for any reason.

Providing re-count figures to the Regional Counting Officer

Where you decide to carry out a re-count, or have been directed to do so, the Regional Counting Officer will send a ‘RECOUNT for’ request email to you using the Results Collation System.

Following the conclusion of any re-count, you must send the result of the re-count for the voting area to the Regional Counting Officer by:

Opening the ‘RECOUNT for’ request email sent from the Regional Counting Officer via the Results Collation System and selecting ‘Forward’ – do not select ‘Reply’

Opening the spreadsheet contained in the email. Enter into the blank ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Rejected at count stage’

cells of the spreadsheet the result of the re-count for: the total number of votes cast in favour of each question, and the number of ballot papers rejected under each heading

Saving and closing the spreadsheet Entering the Regional Counting Officer’s contact email address

in the ‘To’ field of the email and selecting ‘Send’

The Regional Counting Officer will telephone you to check and confirm verbally the figures included on the re-count totals check-sheet for the voting area, and to discuss and agree any necessary

11 Rule 43(3)(a), Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.12 Rule 41, Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.13 Rule 41(4), Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.

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further actions. Once satisfied that any such actions have been completed, the Regional Counting Officer will ask you to share the result of the re-count with referendum and counting agents.

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Counting local totals checklistAction/step Complet

e

CO commences sorting and counting ballot papers RCO sends ‘Count totals’ request email to COs If neededCO contacts RCO by phone to discuss any discrepancy between the verification total and the provisional count totals

CO enters provisional count totals into spreadsheet and returns email to RCO RCO contacts CO by phone to confirm provisional count total figures RCO advises CO to carry out further actions or share provisional count totals with agents

Recount checklist (where needed)Action/step Complet

e

Referendum agent or designated counting agent requests a re-count CO contacts RCO by phone to inform them of any request for a re-count and consult them if they intend to refuse a request to re-count

RCO sends ‘RECOUNT for’ request email to CO CO enters re-count totals into spreadsheet and returns email to RCO RCO contacts CO by phone to confirm re-count figures RCO advises CO to share revised provisional count totals with agents

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6 Certification and declaration of local count totalsTime: after 4pm Friday 6 May 2011Direction to certify and authorisation to declare local count totals

By law, you are not allowed to certify or announce local count totals until directed to do so by the Regional Counting Officer.14 You must seek authorisation from the Regional Counting Officer to certify and declare the count totals for the voting area.

6.1 Once the provisional local count totals have been shared with referendum or counting agents and the opportunity to request a re-count has been provided, you must complete a count totals certificate for the voting area showing:

the total number of ballot papers counted (including those which have been rejected), and

the number of votes cast in favour of each answer to the question.

6.2 A template certificate of count totals that you must use is included at Appendix A. Please note that you will not be sent a certificate by email – you must print and complete the certificate yourself.

6.3 When you are ready to make a declaration of the count totals for the voting area, you must contact the Regional Counting Officer directly by phone to ask for authorisation to certify and declare the count totals. If you are the final Counting Officer in each region to ask for authorisation to certify and declare the count totals for your voting area, there may be a short delay while the Regional Counting Officer confirms whether or not yours is the final voting area to be certified for the UK as a whole.

6.4 During the phone call the Regional Counting Officer will direct you to sign the certificate of count totals15 and you must tell the Regional Counting Officer over the phone that you have signed it.16 You must ensure that you retain the signed certificate as part of the 14 Paragraph 43(6), Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.15 Section 128(5) PPERA 2000.16 Paragraph 45(2), Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.

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official documentation for the referendum. Finally, the Regional Counting Officer will give authorisation at the end of the phone call for you to declare the count totals for the voting area.

6.5 Once you have finished speaking to the Regional Counting Officer, you must immediately make a public declaration of the certified count totals for the voting area at your count venue, and also give public notice of the count totals and the number of ballot papers rejected under each heading for the voting area.17 A template declaration notice that you must use is included at Appendix B. Again, please note that you will not be sent a declaration notice by email – you must print and complete the declaration notice yourself. You may also publish your certified local count totals on a local authority or other website once you have made the declaration.

6.6 You must not share information about the count totals for the voting area with any media representatives before you make a declaration of the certified count totals.

Declaring the local count totals

Once they have received confirmation that the count totals for a voting area have been certified, the Regional Counting Officer will send an update to the Chief Counting Officer, using the Results Collation System.

The Chief Counting Officer will publish certified local count totals on the Electoral Commission’s website as they are received via the Results Collation System. Information about certified count totals will also be made available to referendum campaigners, accredited observers and media representatives at the referendum result venue in London.

You should be aware that this process may only take a few minutes. To avoid your declaration taking place after the information has already been published on the website, you should ensure that you make your declaration of the local count totals immediately once you have been given authorisation by the Regional Counting Officer.

17 Paragraph 45(3), Schedule 2 to the PVSC Act 2011.

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Certification and declaration of local totals checklistAction/step Complet

e

CO completes count totals certificate CO contacts RCO by phone to seek authorisation to certify local count totals CO signs local count totals certificate and informs RCO over the phone RCO gives authorisation for CO to declare local count totals CO declares certified local count totals, and gives public notice of count totals and rejected ballot paper totals

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Appendix A Template count totals certificate

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Certificate of count totalsReferendum on the voting system for UK Parliamentary elections, 5 May 2011As the Counting Officer appointed for the Constituency/

Borough/District/City of

………………………………………………………………………………………….

at the referendum held on 5 May 2011 under the Parliamentary

Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, I hereby certify that:

The total number of ballot papers counted is

The number of votes cast in favour of YES is

The number of votes cast in favour of NO is

Signed: ……………………………………………………………

Name: ...………………………………………………………..…

Counting Officer Dated: 6 May 2011

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Appendix B Template declaration notice

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Declaration of count totals Referendum on the voting system for UK Parliamentary elections, 5 May 2011As the Counting Officer appointed for the Constituency/

Borough/District/City of

………………………………………………………………………………………….at the referendum held on 5 May 2011 under the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, I hereby give notice that I have certified the following to the Chief Counting Officer:

The total number of ballot papers counted was

The number of votes cast in favour of YES was

The number of votes cast in favour of NO was

The number of ballot papers rejected was as follows:

aNo official mark

bVoting for both answers to the question asked

cWriting or mark by which the voter could be identified

dUnmarked or void for uncertainty

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Total rejected

Signed: ……………………………………………………………

Name: ...………………………………………………………..… Counting Officer Dated: 6 May 2011

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