PREPARATIONS for elections in Wokingham are well underway despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
On May 6 in 2021, people will be asked to vote for councillors to represent them on Wokingham Borough Council and a Police & Crime Commissioner, after those elections were postponed earlier this year.
On the same day in May, there will also be at least two Wokingham Town Council by-elections.
Andrew Moulton, monitoring officer, said “significant Covid restrictions” will be in place and the council is working to ensure people can vote in person, instead of only casting postal votes.
The council is looking to stagger the counts and may need additional staff to make sure people are safe when they cast their vote.
READ MORE: Wokingham Covid-19 hotspots revealed after surge in cases
Mr Moulton said: “The count processes will be as transparent and objective as you have seen in the past and you would expect to see in any election.
“That’s the key principle we will be working under.”
Under the current plans, polls will close at 10pm on Thursday, May 6, and the votes cast in the borough and town council elections will be counted the following day at Loddon Valley Leisure Centre.
The count for the Police & Crime Commissioner vote will take place at the same venue on May 10.
“I think it’s almost certain that the costs of running an election during Covid are going to be more expensive, for obvious reasons, than they would be in a so-called normal year,” said Mr Moulton.
“I expect that if there are additional costs that local authorities incur through no fault of their own, then typically the government would seek to reimburse them.
“I wouldn’t anticipate those costs falling on the Wokingham taxpayer.”
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