Council to participate in Advance Voting pilot

Bridgend County Borough Council will participate in the Advance Voting pilot at the upcoming Local Elections in May 2022.

The pilot will allow voting at the elections in certain polling station on the Tuesday and Wednesday before polling day on Thursday 5 May 2022.

Wards chosen for the pilot were determined based on turnout rates at the Local Elections in 2017 which identified five wards both ranked with the overall lowest turnout rates, and the lowest turnout rates at polling stations.

The chosen wards for the May 2022 pilot include Brackla East and Coychurch Lower, Brackla East Central, Brackla West, Brackla West Central, Cornelly as well as Pyle, Kenfig Hill and Cefn Cribwr, and St Bride’s Minor and Ynysawdre.

A separate pilot is also taking place within Cynffig Comprehensive School solely for pupils eligible to vote.

The pilot will see 20 polling stations open from 7am to 9pm across the seven wards on the Tuesday and Wednesday, giving the electorate a choice of three days to cast their votes.

In Cynffig Comprehensive, there will be two polling stations open on the Tuesday from 8.30am to 4.30pm.

These pilot wards represent approximately 27% of the local authority and provide a solid foundation to run the pilots and assess whether having polling stations open for two additional days improves overall turnout rates when compared to the turnout rates in other wards.

The school pilot at Cynffig Comprehensive is particularly exciting and will allow pupils aged 16+ to vote in an environment they are comfortable with and hopefully will encourage continued participation in the democratic process in the future.

Regular meetings have and continue to be held between officers, Welsh Government and software providers to ensure the pilots are both lawful and viable. There is a high degree of confidence that everything is or will be in place to deliver a successful pilot.

Council Leader Huw David