Modernisation of the Island’s Electoral System

Overview

This consultation is part of the root and branch review of the Isle of Man’s election legislation. The Cabinet Office have analysed the responses of the previous consultation held in April 2018 on how you thought elections should be run on the Isle of Man to inform the drafting instructions for two new pieces of legislation.

The Representation of the People Act 1995 and Registration of Electors Act 2006 have been the primary legislation governing how elections are run in the Isle of Man. Following the root and branch review, it was necessary to make changes to this legislation and based on the resulting policy recommendations the Cabinet Office have drafted the new Elections (Keys and Local Authorities) Bill and the Registration of Electors Bill.

To assist with the review and provide an independent viewpoint, the former Chief Executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, Mr John Turner, has been engaged by the Cabinet Office to advise. Keys and Local Authorities members attended briefings which were held in November 2019 with the staff from the Cabinet Office elections team and the legislative drafter.

This consultation focuses primarily on the changes which have been made to the current legislation based on the policy recommendations of the root and branch review inviting views on a number of specific questions in respect of electoral registration and election legislation.

Why your views matter

The consultation will help the Cabinet Office understand views from members of the public and relevant stakeholders on the changes that are being proposed in the new Elections (Keys and Local Authorities) Bill and the Registration of Electors Bill.

What happens next

Consultation responses will be used by the Cabinet Office to inform the final contents of the Bill and a report on responses will be provided.