2020 Guernsey general election

• 21 August: Last day the public was able to register to vote / Electoral roll closed[5]
• 1 September: Candidate nomination period opened[6]
• 4 September: Deadline (4pm) for the delivery of candidate nomination papers[6]
• 25 September: Deadline (midnight) to apply for a postal vote[5][8]
• 3–6 October: Advance "super" polling stations are open[5]
• 6 October: Advance parish polling stations are open[5]
• 7 October: Polling day (polling stations open at 8 am and close at 8 pm)[5][9] 6am deadline for posting postal ballots.[10]
• 8 October: Counting of votes[6]
• 10–11 October: Recount

The electoral system was changed as a result of a 2018 referendum. The 38 members of the States will be elected from a single island-wide constituency by plurality-at-large voting, with voters being able to cast up to 38 votes.[11]

Prior to the elections, the age for candidates to stand was reduced from 20 to 18. The voting age is 16.[12] Campaign spending per candidate was also reduced from £9,000 to £6,000.[11]

For the first time, a Guernsey election was scrutinised by a team of international observers who will produce two reports on the process.[13]

A total of 119 candidates filed nominations.[14][15][16] There were 28 female candidates (24%), which was an increase over the previous two elections, with 10 of 12 current female deputies standing for re-election.[17] Twenty-nine candidates in total stood for re-election. The election was the first including political parties, as the first parties were organised in 2020.

Rick Lowe, a candidate for the Guernsey Party, withdrew from the election following a medical diagnosis.[18]

All but 6 candidates provided a manifesto for printing in a book which was then sent to every address that had a registered voter. The book and the mandates from the other 6 candidates were published on the election2020 website.[19] A small number of candidates paid the cost of sending their expanded manifestos to registered voters.

The results were reported at 01:15 local time on Friday, 9 October.[22] The new deputies will be sworn in on 16 October.

Four unsuccessful candidates who had polled within 493 votes (2% of voters) of the final elected candidate's votes requested a recount.[23] The recount did not change the elected candidates but adjusted the number of voters from 24,647 to 24,627[24] with votes for a number of candidates increasing or decreasing by single digit amounts. The largest change for one candidate was 11 votes, while the number of rejected ballots increased by 67, two pairs of unelected candidates switched final positions and two candidates of the same surname were mixed up in the first count, receiving each other's count, which was fixed.[25]

The elected deputies will serve until the next general election in June 2025.[26]

Summary results

A total of 18 deputies were re-elected, while 20 were newcomers. The number of female deputies fell from 12 to 8, with four re-elected and four new deputies, giving 21% female representation in the States.[27]

Summary results of the 2020 Guernsey general election

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Guernsey Partnership of Independents	153,119	24.02	10	New
	Guernsey Party	63,844	10.01	6	New
	Alliance Party Guernsey	21,449	3.36	0	New
	Independent	399,155	62.61	22	–16
	Seats reserved for Alderney			2	0
Total		637,567	100.00	40	0
Valid votes		24,473	99.37
Invalid/blank votes		154	0.63
Total votes		24,627	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		30,899	79.70
Source: Guernsey Election Office

• Official website