Democracy Volunteers observed the electoral process in all of the new Welsh Senedd constituencies, 61 Scottish Parliamentary constituencies as well as every London Borough and numerous other councils across England. In total, the number of observers, experts and support staff was over 200 at this election.
These observers generally formed teams of two, sometimes three, and attended 1,165 polling stations, across these constituencies and local authority areas.
Democracy Volunteers’ observers spent between 30 and 45 minutes at each polling venue observing the voting process and then completed an online survey, regarding the integrity of the electoral process, for each polling station.
Democracy Volunteers observed the electoral process in 204 Westminster parliamentary constituencies across the UK. The organisation deployed two or more observers to each constituency. In total, the number of observers, experts and support staff was over 200 at this election.
As part of Democracy Volunteers’ election observation for the 2025 English Local Elections, held on May 1st, the team worked with students from Manchester University to assess the impact on local election candidates because of the threats they receive.
Democracy Volunteers has been observing elections in the UK for 10 years. We see breaches of the secret ballot across the UK and we think it is important to explain more about it and how it should be possible to limit or prevent it.
Our director Dr John Ault has backed the international call to action on election observation. On the 29th of April, within the framework of the New Democratic Pact for Europe, the conference (Towards Trusted and Inclusive Electoral Processes: The Role of Observers) called on the Council of Europe’s member...
These elections were very well run by staff who were faced by an extraordinary situation. The Covid security put in place for the elections was impressive and generally followed...
These elections were very well run by staff who were faced by an extraordinary situation. The Covid security put in place for the elections was impressive and generally followed...
These elections were very well run by staff who were faced by an extraordinary situation. The Covid security put in place for the elections was impressive and generally followed...
This project comes at a critical and challenging time not only for elections and elections staff but for wider society, as restrictions on citizens' freedoms are in place to...
The main challenge to observation was the incapacity to deploy any of our observers to the United States in person. This meant we had to readjust our usual methods...
13 observers were registered by Democracy Volunteers with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG) and local Returning Officers (ROs). They were divided into teams of 2...
198 observers registered by Democracy Volunteers with the Electoral Commission, as well as three observers who directly accredited themselves with the Commission, made up in teams of 2, made...
The mission deployed in two waves: a core team was located in Gibraltar for one week around the election and two short term observers deployed primarily for polling day...
Democracy Volunteers has today conducted polling station observations across the UK. Given the high level of interest in the election, Democracy Volunteers accredited and deployed a team of 200...
Democracy Volunteers deployed two teams to observe the national elections to the European Parliament in the UK and The Netherlands. A third team was deployed to the same elections...
A team of 26 observers registered with, and accredited by, the UK’s Electoral Commission made 320 separate observations across the 1,463 different polling stations (ballot boxes) in Northern Ireland....
The mission deployed in two waves: a core team for up to ten days and the rest of the short-term observers for the weekend of the election. The mission...