Statement by the Connétable of St. Martin on behalf of Comite des Connetable re The Electoral Register

STATEMENT TO BE MADE BY THE CONNETABLE OF ST. MARTIN  ON 14th SEPTEMBER 2004

Members will recall that the Public Elections (Jersey) Law 2002, provides for a rolling register of electors. This replaced the annual fixed list of electors under the 1968 Franchise law and enables a person, who meets the criteria, to register as an elector at any time during the year.

The Public Elections Law was registered by the Royal Court on 5th April 2002, and, with the exception of certain Articles, was brought into force on 5th June 2002. In particular, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Article 7 were not brought into force at that time as it was impossible to send to every unit of dwelling accommodation a statement showing those persons resident at the address who were already registered as electors. Instead, the Connétable s sent a standard form to every unit of dwelling accommodation to gather the names of electors to be included in the first registers prepared for 1st September 2002. The registers prepared in 2002 are held on a temporary system by each Parish.

The Connétable s recognised at an early stage that a new computer system would be required to enable rolling electoral registers to be maintained. The new system is hosted centrally but controlled parochially as it is essential to ensure that a person cannot have their name on more than one electoral register at any time. The contract for this new system was awarded in 2002 but owing to a delay in selecting the supplier the original delivery date of 1st June was delayed until 1st September 2003.

The Connétable s had expected that the new system would be live for April 2004 and thus used to generate statements to every unit of dwelling accommodation by 1st May 2004. Regrettably, there have been further delays and the project has still not been signed-off by the Parishes.

The Connétable s are concerned that although every effort is being made to remind persons moving between Parishes of their duty to register at the new address, there are many who may have failed to so register and who may thus find themselves disenfranchised. The Electoral Registers are required for Public Elections for the positions of Centenier and Procureur du Bien Public as well as for Senator, Connétable and Deputy and these elections can be held throughout the year. In addition, the Electoral registers will be used should the States decide to hold a referendum on any issue and it is therefore essential that they are as up to date as possible.

It is, therefore, the Connétable s intention to send within the next few weeks to every unit of dwelling accommodation a reminder that people should check that their names are on the Electoral register together with a form to enable those not registered to apply. In particular, we wish to remind those who, in the last two or three years, have moved address or reached 18 years of age or who now meet the residence criteria that they have a duty to register. The Connétable s hope that this campaign will ensure that everyone who is eligible has the opportunity to have their name included on an Electoral Register. The Comité and its officers will continue to seek a speedy resolution of the technical problems which have delayed the implementation of a reliable IT platform for a rolling electoral register.