A nomination with a nominator who lapsed
Council elections come round every year for a third of the seats. The rules say candidates must be members of a certain grade, nominated by a set number of voting members, and must submit a statement by the deadline. The governance officer publishes the call for nominations. Forms come back as scanned PDFs, with signatures of nominators.
Each nominator has to be checked against the membership database. One lapsed last year, which invalidates a nomination unless the candidate finds another nominator before the deadline, which is tomorrow. Candidate statements are different lengths and formats. The ballot is then sent to eligible voters, and returns are counted. The governance officer knows that a mistake at any point could lead to a challenge.
Why elections are hard to run cleanly
Elections combine strict rules with a process that happens once a year and involves many members.
- Nominator and candidate eligibility are checked by hand against an export.
- Nomination forms are scanned paper with signatures.
- Problems with nominations are found close to the deadline.
- Candidate statements vary in length and format.
- Voter lists are built separately from nomination checks.
- Records are scattered across email and folders.
The underlying issue is that eligibility is checked after the fact rather than at the moment a member nominates or votes.
What a manual election costs
Invalid nominations found late are distressing for candidates and can leave seats uncontested. Errors in eligibility can lead to challenges. The governance officer spends weeks on checking and paperwork.
Members who find the nomination process awkward do not stand, which narrows the pool of candidates, often at the moment the body wants a more varied council. Your election rules and any questions about them are for your governance lead and advisers.
How we build election admin
- Your election rules are set up with your governance lead: seats, candidate eligibility, number of nominators, deadlines and statement length.
- Candidates start a nomination online and invite nominators by email.
- Nominators sign in to support the nomination, and their eligibility is checked at once, so a candidate knows immediately if a nominator does not count.
- Candidates submit their statement and photo in a set format, with the word limit enforced.
- The governance officer sees each nomination's status and can confirm valid nominations when the deadline passes.
- For the ballot, eligible voters are fixed on your eligibility date, and voting runs through a secure online ballot or is handed to an independent ballot provider if you use one.
- Every step is recorded, and a report for the returning officer or scrutineer sets out nominations, checks and results.
| Stage | Check made | When |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate starts nomination | Candidate grade and status | On starting |
| Nominator supports | Nominator eligibility | On signing |
| Statement submitted | Format and word limit | On submitting |
| Ballot | Voter eligibility on the fixed date | When the voter list is produced |
Many bodies use an independent ballot provider for the vote itself. The nomination process can hand over to them cleanly.
Election season afterwards
A candidate starts her nomination and invites nominators. One lapsed member tries to support her and is told he is not eligible, so she invites another the same day, weeks before the deadline. Statements arrive in the same format and are published together. The voter list is fixed on the eligibility date and passed to the ballot. The returning officer receives a full record.
More members stand, because the process is straightforward and problems are found early.
Is your council election like this?
- Nominators are checked by hand against an export.
- Invalid nominations are found close to the deadline.
- Candidate statements arrive in every format.
- Election records are scattered.
- Few members stand for council.