If algorithm searches and data standardisation are keeping you awake at night, please spare a thought for the Newark parliamentary constituency. We're heading into the first parliamentary by-election under the new provisions of the 2013 Act. You may think the Act is just about individual elector registration – in fact, Part 2 of the Act introduces changes to the way elections are administered. 

 

The law now provides for a period of between 17 and 19 days between the close of nominations for a parliamentary by-election and the date of poll. This has shifted from between nine and 11 days. 

 

This will mean that the nomination period will close on a Friday, Monday or Tuesday whereas under the past arrangements, close of nominations would have been on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. 

 

Readers of this column will be wondering why it is reading like a version of Tim Harford's More or Less without the entertaining bits. The answer is that these details matter most when you have to run a by-election at short notice, under new legislation, with two Bank Holidays in the election period. 

 

It's easy to get things wrong, and getting them wrong can result in an unwelcome appearance in court – as faced us. 

 

Following receipt of the Writ I asked our elections manager where we might turn for advice and guidance. The obvious answer was the Electoral Commission whose role in giving returning officers advice is heralded on their website. 

 

All guidance on running parliamentary elections from the site had been removed because of the change in legislation. Unhelpfully, they had not produced any new guidance.

 

I found this a little difficult to swallow. The enactment of new legislation hardly comes as a bolt from the blue and if your purpose is to advise and guide, it's critical

that you are ready when the law is in place.

 

But perhaps this isn't the real issue. The fundamental guarantee which underpins our electoral system is the obligation on those conducting elections to act fairly and lawfully and this is underpinned by direct accountability to the courts. 

 

The insertion of the Electoral Commission between election officials and the courts and the dabbling of the Cabinet Office in electoral matters only serves to undermine this fundamental strength in our system.

 

Beware then, Part Two, Section 18 of the Act which empowers the Electoral Commission to make recommendations to reduce the fees of an inadequately performing returning officer. 

 

It's a shame no-one has thought of reducing the salaries of inadequately performing Electoral Commission officials.