With 5 weeks we have a long Easter weekend
The four-day weekend is perfect to get your final pre- expenses literature out. But don’t forget to take so some time with the family/friends – it’s going to be a tough five weeks.
Depending on your religious convictions, Good Friday is perhaps a day for doing invisible things, artworking, batching leaflets, writing blue letter envelopes etc…Some local parties take the opportunity to talk to those from other faith communities but beware its Passover in the Jewish community now as well.
But the rest of the weekend is fair game for activity. With the lighter evenings it should be all systems go!
For anyone who is doing their nomination papers this week, why not use a list of supporters who’ve responded to recent surveys and Focuses and anybody who used to deliver but had stopped – or if you’re on Connect use the “Volunteer Prospects” options in target pools. You can use the necessary visits for the nomination paper to reactivate deliverers, get poster or stakeboard sites and get supporters onto postal votes. By targeting the right people you can multiply the benefits to the campaign of an otherwise mundane job.
THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK
- Prioritise getting existing supporters onto postal votes
- Prioritise communicating with existing postal voters. Combine some target mail with a leaflet going out over Easter Weekend?
- Euro election address work – many areas will need to do stuffing labelling or similar for their Euro campaign in their patch.
- Get a full slate of candidates, without it impacting on target ward campaigning
- Get YOUR nomination forms filled in and completed now and submitted
- Prepare mailing (and phoning) to your helpers, members and supporters launching the campaign and asking for their help and money (include a small poster with instructions about when you’d like them to put it up)
- Host a campaign launch – but not in doorstep campaigning time
- If you’ve not declared your candidacy /or submitted your nominations its the last chance to get non-regulated period expenditure leaflets out!! This is often the “ Flying Start” leaflet, often something full colour.
THINGS TO PREPARE FOR
- Get blue and cream envelopes out to clerical helpers
- Check with Returning officer on likely date for postal vote ballot paper arrival
- Training for postal vote polling day
- Postal vote plan
- Have you got enough Calling leaflets and Posters?
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
- Nominations have opened
- Friday 18th April Bank Holiday Good Friday
- Sunday 20th April Easter Sunday
- Monday 21st April Bank Holiday Easter Monday
- Wednesday 23rd April St Georges Day
- 4pm Thursday 24th April Deadline for submission of nomination papers
ELECTION LAW ROUND UP
Nominations and DNO’s
A completed set of nomination paperwork will include:
- One or more nomination papers
- Candidate’s consent to nomination – remember to submit all 7 pages of this. The Electoral Commission changed their ruling on this last year. See explanation here.
- Form for the appointment of the agent
- Delegated Nominating Officer (DNO) paperwork that allows you to use the party name and logo.
Most Returning Officers (ERO’s) will supply forms, but always use theparty’s own DNO paperwork (guidance on the DNO form is downloadable here). It is usually your job to collect the ten signatures for the nomination form. If you can get these at a party meeting this is easiest, but simply knocking on doors usually works too.
Local Election nominations open on Monday 14th April and close at 4pm on Thursday 24th April 2014
Get the ERO to informally check your papers before handing them in and ask for a receipt.
For further guidance on nominations click here
Expenses limits.
Expenses must be accounted for from the time that the candidate is deemed to have begun his campaign for a particular election and seat. The law relating to the start of candidacy for election expenses was simplified in 2000 as follows:
All the dates below vary for those in the South West Euro Region – Devon and Cornwall and Western Counties. An extra bank holiday in Gibraltar on the 28th April shifts some dates see the Electoral Commission’s revised electoral timetable for details.
A person becomes a candidate on either:
- The last day for publication of notice of election (Monday 14th April ) if on or before that day he has declared himself a candidate (or someone has done so on his behalf)
- OR after that date, on the day on which s/he (or someone on their behalf) declares their candidacy
- OR on the day on which they are nominated (whichever is earlier).
So if you called yourself the candidate in February your expenses would not start till the 14th April.
If you did not declare your candidacy prior 14th April then the latest you could delay the start of expenses is the day you submit your nomination, – the last day for which is 4pm on Thursday 24th April.
Expenses do not relate to when you pay the bill or order materials but when you use them. You can print and pay for posters in January; it’s their use in the campaign period that needs to be declared. However there are deadlines after the election by when expense must be paid.
For further details on who can authorise expenditure, what are the limits, how can they be apportioned etc are available here.
Getting literature out before the deadline and the start of the regulated campaign expenditure period
Appoint an agent
The appointment must be made by Tuesday 29th April but it is best if the agent is appointed when the candidate’s nomination papers go in, so that s/he has legal authority from the start of the campaign. If no agent is nominated, the candidate is deemed to be their own agent. For more details on election agents click here.