The Returning Officer
Whos' who
Elections operate in an unusual way, all of the lead staff on the election are Chelmsford City Council employees, but elections are kept separate from other council functions so you may hear some different roles.
- The County Returning Officer – Paul Turner (Legal & Assurance Director): Overall responsibility for Essex County Council elections.
- The Deputy County Returning Officer/Returning Officer – Nick Eveleigh (Chief executive): Responsible for delivering all elections to be held in Chelmsford.
- The Electoral Registration Officer – Nick Eveleigh: Responsible for compiling and maintaining the electoral register in Chelmsford.
- Electoral Services Management – Murphie Manning (Democratic and Elections Manager): Responsible for the day to day management of the electoral services department.
- Deputy Returning Officers – Louise Goodwin (Director of Connected Chelmsford), Lorraine Browne (Legal and Democratic Services Manager) and Murphie Manning: Responsible for delivering all elections to be held in Chelmsford.
Our role is to deliver the polls safely and fairly in Chelmsford and our goal is to ensure that we provide a good experience for all voters and candidates at these elections.
We will support you however possible in your campaigns so please do not hesitate to approach us with any queries. This may include:
- Information about elections in the area e.g. location of polling stations, how we are managing the implementation of voter ID and electorate figures.
- Copies of the electoral register
- Spending limit calculations
- Access to resources and support
- Support you in liaising with the police if you have concerns regarding your or someone elses safety
Any individual voter queries that are raised we will do as best we can to resolve and to ensure that they can cast their vote and feel confident in the election process.
We cannot:
- Discuss any individual voters arrangements with candidates
- Advise on or sanction breaches of campaigning rules
- Discipline or disallow any candidates
If you have any concerns regarding other candidates or campaigns you should report it to either The Electoral Commission or the police. If you need any assistance with this then we are happy to help.
Throughout the election period there are a few statutory notices that we are required to publish. These are published up on our notice boards and on our upcoming elections page.
The wording of the notices is prescriptive and can sometimes be too much specialist terminology for voters to understand so we also translate the key information to plain English on our website.
You and those supporting your campaign have a right to attend the key electoral events but you must make sure that you get the right authorisation first.
Postal vote opening sessions
You are entitled to attend postal vote opening sessions to view the process but you cannot interfere or try to count the votes.
f you are a city council candidate, you are also allowed to appoint agents to observe on your behalf.
If you can, it would be best to book if you wish to observe one of these sessions, but you do not have to.
Polling stations
You can visit the polling stations in your area, chat to staff and observe the voting experience. You must ensure that you do not influence or intimidate staff whilst in the polling station.
Candidates are also allowed to appoint polling agents, but this must be done before Thursday 24th April.
Polling agents are different to tellers, who are not allowed into the polling station and you do not have to notify us about.
The count
The count can be an exciting and nerve wracking day for candidates so we do our best to make sure you know what to expect and that it is a friendly environment. You are entitled to attend the count and can bring guests to support you.
you and your agent will automatically be included on our attendance record but you are also permitted to bring up to twelve count agents per candidate and one guest per candidate.
you must notify us of any count agents before Thursday 24th April but you can notify us who your guest will be at any time.
Throughout your campaign we hope to work together to ensure that we provide the best and most inclusive voting experience for everyone in Chelmsford.
When talking to voters, make sure that they are aware of deadlines for this election and the introduction of voter ID. We don't want anyone to miss out on the opportunity to cast their vote if they are too late.
Please let us know of any issues that are raised with you by voters as quickly as possible. If it is related to the administration do not try to resolve it yourself.
For example, if someone says that they have not received their poll card, do not tell them that you will sort it for them. Instead, refer them to us so that we can help.
It is not a requirement for you to keep us up to date on your campaign but if you are intending to run any local campaigns that may impact on how people wish to cast their vote or how they interact with us it would be helpful if we could be provided notice of this.
For example, if you are encouraging people to vote by post we can check that the method you are using are using is best for voters and ensure that we are prepared for an influx of applications.