Association of Electoral Administrators
 Association of Electoral Administrators  | |
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The Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA), established in 1987, describes itself as the world's first organisation representing election professionals.
AEA Annual Conference 2020 with the theme Delivering Change took place at the Grand Hotel, Blackpool from Sunday 2 February to Wednesday 5 February 2020. Civica Election Services tweeted:
- "Proud to sponsor AEA Annual Conference 2020, helping electoral services teams across the UK to make democracy happen."[1]
2019 General Election
On 5 February 2020, in a News Release following the UK/2019 General Election, the AEA stated:
Holding an unscheduled general election two weeks before Christmas created confusion for voters and intensified pressure on stretched election teams. That’s the message from a new post-election statement published today by the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA). The 2019 UK Parliamentary General Election – delivered on time for Christmas calls for electoral reform and dubs the electoral system ‘fragile’.
A condensed general election timetable clashed with the annual voter registration canvass of every household in Great Britain. This created unique challenges, including:
- Some people mistakenly assuming they were registered to vote, not understanding that the annual canvass enquiry form is for information-gathering only and that they also had to complete and return the subsequent ‘Invitation to Register’ form sent out to them.
- Deadlines for voter registration and postal vote applications falling on the same day, but at different times. Electors must be registered before an absent vote application is made. Anyone who applied for a postal vote by the 5pm deadline on 26 November 2019, but did not register to vote until after 5pm, could not vote by post.
Peter Stanyon, AEA Chief Executive, said:
- “This highly scrutinised last-minute election was, overall, delivered successfully and professionally. However, it is clearer than ever that our electoral system must change to deliver the service voters expect and deserve. Any legislative shifts must also reduce the bureaucratic burden on electoral administrators, who are already stretched to breaking point.”
Robert Curtis, AEA Chairman, commented:
- “It is important we acknowledge that electoral administrators delivered the general election in December - the third in five years - in a matter of weeks. They should be applauded given the constraints of the current system and the short timetable they were set. Lessons must be learned. We continue to call for reform, working closely with government, the Electoral Commission and the wider electoral community to make it happen."[2]
Regional branches
There are eleven regional branches of the AEA covering the United Kingdom. They meet three or four times a year and give their Members the opportunity to discuss matters relating to the conduct of elections and electoral registration as well as the internal workings of the Association.[3]
