States Meeting summary: 24 June
States Assembly
24 June 2025
AnnouncementThe Deputy Bailiff started the meeting by announcing the death of former Greffier and Jurat, Catherine Mary Newcombe, known as Mary Newcombe. Jurat Newcombe was the first female Greffier of the States, appointed in 2000 after beginning her career with the States Greffe as a Committee Clerk in 1968.
Question Time
Questions with notice
The Meeting began with Ministers answering States Members’ questions with notice.
Skip to page 8 of the Order Paper to find out which questions were asked and watch from 11 minutes into this morning’s recording to hear questions with notice in full.
Questions without notice
States Members then asked the Minister for Children and Families, Connétable Richard Vibert; the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, Deputy Rob Ward; and the Chief Minister and the Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Farnham, questions without notice for 15 minutes each.
Skip to 2 hours and 32 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the beginning of questions without notice, and the start of this afternoon’s recording for the final questions to the Chief Minister.
Public Business
P.27 Draft Elections (Electoral Registers) (Jersey) Amendment Law 202-.
The Privileges and Procedures Committee proposed amendments to the Elections (Jersey) Law, which will allow for Automatic Voter Registration to be introduced with the aim of removing some of the barriers to voting. PPC accepted the following amendments:
- The Committee’s own Amendment to allow candidates to access the Electoral Register during campaigning, with provision for Islanders to opt out of appearing on the list given to candidates.
- The Comité des Connétables Amendment to ensure voter register on an Electoral Roll cannot be moved to a different register during an election period.
- The Comité des Connétables Amendment which would mean a person’s decision to opt out of the candidates’ list would carry through if that person moved from one electoral district to another.
Skip to 8 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full.
P.28 Draft Elections (Jersey) Amendment Law 202-
The Privileges and Procedures Committee proposed further amendments to the Elections (Jersey) Law and other elections legislation.
These are in response to the Report of the Jersey Electoral Authority, and to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Election Observers Mission.
They include allowing all prisoners, including those sentenced to more than four years, being allowed to vote; and extending the powers of the Jersey Electoral Authority in relation to the resolution of disputes to cover complaints made by the public as well as by candidates.
The States Assembly voted on the Articles as follows:
- Articles 1 and 2: changes to the definition of cancelled and spoilt ballot papers. The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Articles with a Standing Vote.
- Article 3: removing the provision disqualifying prisoners from voting. The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Article with 28 votes for, 15 votes against and 1 abstention.
- Article 4: replacing ‘resident’ with ‘ordinarily resident’. The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Article, as amended, with 36 votes for, 8 votes against and no abstentions.
The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Deputy’s Amendment with 30 votes for, 16 votes against and no abstentions.
Skip 1 hour into this afternoon’s recording to watch the beginning of the debate, including the Amendment.
Adjournment
The States Assembly then adjourned and will reconvene at 9:30am tomorrow, Wednesday 25 June 2025, to continue debating amendments to the Elections Law.
