The National Assembly for Wales Referendum (Assembly Act Provisions) (Referendum Question, Date of Referendum Etc.) Order 2010

Retrieval of cancelled postal ballot papers

23.—(1) Where it appears to the counting officer that a cancelled postal ballot paper has been placed—

(a) in a postal voters’ ballot box;

(b) in the receptacle for ballot paper envelopes; or

(c) a postal ballot box,

the counting officer must proceed as follows.

(2) The counting officer must, on at least one occasion on which a postal voters ballot box is opened in accordance with paragraph 16, also open any postal ballot box and the receptacle for ballot paper envelopes and—

(a) retrieve the cancelled ballot paper;

(b) show the ballot paper number on the cancelled ballot paper to the agents;

(c) retrieve the postal voting statement that relates to a cancelled ballot paper from the receptacle for postal voting statements;

(d) attach any cancelled postal ballot paper to the postal voting statement to which it relates;

(e) place the cancelled documents in a separate packet and deal with that packet in the manner provided for by paragraph 11(7); and

(f) unless the postal ballot box has been opened for the purposes of counting the votes under rule 34 of the Referendum Rules, reseal the postal ballot box in the presence of the agents.