Part 8 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 amended the electoral codes to provide for same-day island voting at all elections and referendums. Section 202 of the Act amends the Referendum Act 1994 and provides that the Minister may make an Order, taking account of advice from the local returning officer, to shorten polling hours on an island at a referendum where it would be unnecessary or impracticable to have full polling hours due to local circumstances. The local circumstances to be considered include
• the number of electors on the island,
• the distance between a polling station on an island and the place appointed for the counting of votes,
• advance forecasts of stress of weather, and
• foreseen transport difficulties.
Such an Order must be made no later than 7 days before polling day and the amended polling period must not be less than 4 hours. In advance of the referendums held on 8 March 2024, I was advised by the local returning officer that, taking local circumstances of electorate size and transport schedules into account, polling hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. were appropriate in respect of polling on Whiddy Island.
In advance of the polls to be taken on 7 June and before deciding to make an Order in accordance with the legislative provisions, I will take account of the advice of the local returning officers in respect of the hours of polling on the islands.
