Local government, London Mayoral & London Assembly elections 3rd May

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. The current law says they must be held on a working day

There is no statutory requirement for parliamentary elections to be held on Thursdays; they could be held on any weekday except for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Good Friday, a bank holiday or any day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning. Elections cannot take place on Saturday or Sunday as these days are dies non, i.e. must be disregarded for the purposes of the electoral timetable under the Parliamentary Election Rules in the Representation of the People Act 1983:
Computation of time
2 (1) In computing any period of time for the purposes of the timetable –
(a) a Saturday or Sunday,
(b) a Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday or a bank
holiday, or
(c) a day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning,
shall be disregarded, and any such day shall not be treated as a day for the purpose of any proceedings up to the completion of the poll nor shall the returning officer be obliged to proceed with the counting of the votes on such a day.1
The Electoral Administration Act 2006 removed Maundy Thursday from the list of days that are to be disregarded for the purposes of the electoral timetable.
The holding of polls on Thursdays has become an election convention. Since 1935 every general election has been held on a Thursday. Before the Representation of the People Act 1918 elections were held over a period of a fortnight or more and the first time a general election was held on a single day it was held on a Saturday, 14 December 1918. In 1922 and 1924 the general elections were held on Wednesdays and in 1931 the general election was held on a Tuesday.
Local elections in England and Wales are required to be held on the first Thursday in May, or such other day as is fixed by the Secretary of State by order, under the provisions of section 37 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. However, a new clause introduced by ministers at committee stage during the passage of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act Bill 2006-07 will empower the Secretary of State (and Assembly Government ministers in relation to Wales) to move the day of local elections to the same day as that of European Parliament elections when the two fall in the same year. The Bill received Royal Assent on 30 October 2007.

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-04469.pdf

I think holding them on a weekday is a good idea; people are more likely to travel to other parts of the country at weekends. Since the poll times are fairly long (7am to 10pm), pretty much everyone gets the chance to vote either before or after work; and doing it on the way there or back, if you drive, can be the most convenient way.