Teignbridge leads Devon in delivering elections

Teignbridge Council has been shown as the highest performing authority in Devon for delivering quality elections.

The Electoral Commission, the independent elections watchdog, has published information on how well Returning Officers around the country performed against the Commission’s standards for the UK Parliamentary Election held in May 2010, naming Teignbridge as top in Devon.

There are seven standards which cover all aspects of the work Returning Officers and their election teams do, from planning the poll, communicating with candidates and potential voters, to maintaining election security.

Authorities are rated as exceeding, meeting or failing the standards, with Teignbridge exceeding them in five categories and meeting them in two.

The council is exceeding the standards required for:

1. Skills and knowledge of the Returning Officer
2. Planning processes in place for an election
3. Election staff training
4. Planning and delivering public awareness activity
5. Communication of information to candidates and agents

…and meeting the standards required for:

When compared against the assessments of the other nine Devon authorities which run elections, Teignbridge has achieved the highest overall assessment against the standards.

Cllr Marie Jenkins, Teignbridge Executive Spokesperson for Communities and Regulation, told the Devon Week: “This is a great result for our team, who worked tirelessly not only on election day but throughout months of preparation beforehand.  The well-managed event went extremely smoothly, and we’re delighted to see this reflected in these results from The Electoral Commission.

“With local elections coming up in May 2011 we’re confident that we can deliver another trouble-free election which gives local people the best possible opportunity to make their voices heard.”

The council is currently preparing for the 2011 elections having completed its annual canvass of voters to ensure an up-to-date electoral role. It recently launched a drive to encourage more people to stand as local councillors, and anyone interested in doing so can visit Teignbridge’s Make a Difference site, email makeadifference@teignbridge.gov.uk, or call 01626 215103.

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