Unlocking Flexibility and Simplicity in Electoral Management Software: How Wakefield Council Embraced Workflows in Electoral Services

For Siobhan Lloyd, Senior Development Officer in Electoral Services at Wakefield Council, modernising processes isn't about complexity — it's about clarity and simplicity. Using Democracy Counts Elector8 software system has only got better and smarter with the adoption of workflows, an inbuilt user friendly programming tool, that has helped demystify electoral software processes and introduced a new level of flexibility and control to the way her team works.

“To me, it's just effectively a flowchart that takes any of your elector records that you're processing through the necessary steps to get it from A to B” says Siobhan. Whether it's handling new applications, postal votes, or managing the canvas process, workflows have given the team a structured, yet adaptable framework to choose to work.

Wakefield Electoral Services on workflows

Initially, there was hesitation. “I think people are probably just a little bit scared of them” she admits. But with hands-on exploration and the use of their test database, Siobhan and her team quickly saw the benefits. “I just started playing with them… I had the DC workflow on one screen and just recreated it. That’s how I learned how to use it.”

The testing (rather than LIVE) version of Elector8 (our electoral management software) has been instrumental in the learning hands on how to best utilise the Workflows functionality and tools.

What stood out most was the system’s flexibility. Unlike the old “wizard-driven” processes — which often relied on multiple tabs, spreadsheets, and filters — workflows offer a clean, visual approach to seeing the steps and progress through them.

“It kind of separates everything out for you in an easier-to-read kind of way,” she explains. This clarity is particularly valuable for newer or less technical staff, who can easily track the progress of an elector or household through each step.

The ability to tailor the process has also improved responsiveness. “If we get partway into the canvas and responses are looking really low, we can add in extra steps,” says Siobhan. That might mean introducing telephone canvassing or an additional reminder form — all without disrupting the core legal process.

“You're not restricted to the system (our electoral management software) having designed a canvas workflow that follows everything to the exact letter,” she says. “We have got that little bit of flexibility to do things slightly differently if we want to.”

In practice, that adaptability supports everything from targeted outreach to smoother team coordination. And if a resident calls with concerns, staff can quickly open the workflow, see exactly what’s happened, and explain the reasoning behind each step.

For Wakefield, workflows have become more than a technical upgrade — they’re a way of simplifying operations, empowering teams, and ensuring better service delivery.

“It’s almost hard to go wrong… just recreating one of the DC ones and seeing that I got it all the way to the end — and I kind of understood the conditions — that really worked for me.”