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| Holyrood 'should not run ballots' | Holyrood 'should not run ballots' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Future Scottish elections should not be run by the Scottish Government, a committee of MPs has said. | Future Scottish elections should not be run by the Scottish Government, a committee of MPs has said. |
| The Commons Scottish affairs committee said transferring responsibility for the ballots was not necessary. | The Commons Scottish affairs committee said transferring responsibility for the ballots was not necessary. |
| However, it criticised the role of the Scotland Office in last year's local and Holyrood elections, when more than 140,000 ballots were spoiled. | However, it criticised the role of the Scotland Office in last year's local and Holyrood elections, when more than 140,000 ballots were spoiled. |
| An expert had told the committee he was not comfortable that everyone who was elected to Holyrood deserved to be. | An expert had told the committee he was not comfortable that everyone who was elected to Holyrood deserved to be. |
| The committee also said there had been a loss of confidence in electronic counting. | The committee also said there had been a loss of confidence in electronic counting. |
| The Scottish Parliament agreed in January that Holyrood should be given more say over how Scottish elections are conducted. | The Scottish Parliament agreed in January that Holyrood should be given more say over how Scottish elections are conducted. |
| First Minister Alex Salmond has led calls for responsibility for the ballots to be passed from the Scotland Office to Holyrood. | First Minister Alex Salmond has led calls for responsibility for the ballots to be passed from the Scotland Office to Holyrood. |
| There may be a case for organisational changes on the ground in Scotland, including reformed structures of accountability Scottish Affairs Committee report | There may be a case for organisational changes on the ground in Scotland, including reformed structures of accountability Scottish Affairs Committee report |
| But the committee's report stated: "This is not necessary in order for elections to proceed smoothly in future. | But the committee's report stated: "This is not necessary in order for elections to proceed smoothly in future. |
| "However, there may be a case for organisational changes on the ground in Scotland, including reformed structures of accountability." | "However, there may be a case for organisational changes on the ground in Scotland, including reformed structures of accountability." |
| The hard-hitting analysis of what went wrong last May also called for a review of the Electoral Commission's status. | The hard-hitting analysis of what went wrong last May also called for a review of the Electoral Commission's status. |
| "It is difficult to see the Electoral Commission as having added any value to this entire process," the report concluded. | "It is difficult to see the Electoral Commission as having added any value to this entire process," the report concluded. |
| The committee of MPs took evidence from Canadian elections expert Ron Gould, who was appointed to draw up an independent review of the voting confusion. | The committee of MPs took evidence from Canadian elections expert Ron Gould, who was appointed to draw up an independent review of the voting confusion. |
| Mr Gould told the committee he was "not comfortable" that every MSP at Holyrood had been rightly elected, because of the number of rejected ballots. | |
| He also said Holyrood and council elections should be "decoupled" and held on separate days. The Scottish Government is already consulting on this. | He also said Holyrood and council elections should be "decoupled" and held on separate days. The Scottish Government is already consulting on this. |
| BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor said several candidates at the Holyrood vote were elected with a majority less than the number of spoiled ballot papers. | BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor said several candidates at the Holyrood vote were elected with a majority less than the number of spoiled ballot papers. |
| He added: "By definition one could not be comfortable with that, but there is no point in the report where they say this individual was wrongly elected or that declaration was wrongly made. | He added: "By definition one could not be comfortable with that, but there is no point in the report where they say this individual was wrongly elected or that declaration was wrongly made. |
| "No-one is saying, for example, that all of the rejected ballot papers in one constituency would have gone to another candidate so the vote was wrong. It is an intriguing remark but I don't think it gets to the root of the problem." | "No-one is saying, for example, that all of the rejected ballot papers in one constituency would have gone to another candidate so the vote was wrong. It is an intriguing remark but I don't think it gets to the root of the problem." |
| 'Lasting changes' | 'Lasting changes' |
| The committee report found that the VoteScotland information campaign run by the Electoral Commission was not satisfactory, as was the commission's failure to flag up "warning signs" about the impending confusion among voters over changes to ballot papers. | The committee report found that the VoteScotland information campaign run by the Electoral Commission was not satisfactory, as was the commission's failure to flag up "warning signs" about the impending confusion among voters over changes to ballot papers. |
| "There is little value in establishing an independent Electoral Commission if it fails to act robustly to warn government of potential problems with the electoral system," it said. | "There is little value in establishing an independent Electoral Commission if it fails to act robustly to warn government of potential problems with the electoral system," it said. |
| The role of electronic counting also came under fire, with the MPs finding: "The experience of its use in the Scottish Parliament and local government elections revealed a fundamental lack of transparency." | The role of electronic counting also came under fire, with the MPs finding: "The experience of its use in the Scottish Parliament and local government elections revealed a fundamental lack of transparency." |
| Until the problems are resolved, the report said it did not back the use of e-counting in future elections. | Until the problems are resolved, the report said it did not back the use of e-counting in future elections. |
| Committee chairman Mohammad Sarwar said: "This is an opportunity for the Scotland Office to make lasting changes to restore confidence in the voting process and we would like to see them co-ordinating their actions with other government departments, as the 3 May problems are unlikely to be unique to Scotland." | Committee chairman Mohammad Sarwar said: "This is an opportunity for the Scotland Office to make lasting changes to restore confidence in the voting process and we would like to see them co-ordinating their actions with other government departments, as the 3 May problems are unlikely to be unique to Scotland." |
| The Scotland Office is to publish its formal response to the Gould report, and the consultation exercise on improving the elections to the Scottish Parliament, before the summer recess. | The Scotland Office is to publish its formal response to the Gould report, and the consultation exercise on improving the elections to the Scottish Parliament, before the summer recess. |
| A spokesman said: "When the Gould report was initially published, we immediately accepted five core recommendations which will have a positive effect on the experience of voters in elections." | A spokesman said: "When the Gould report was initially published, we immediately accepted five core recommendations which will have a positive effect on the experience of voters in elections." |