The European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 2004 No. 293

[F1 SCHEDULE 2 E+W+S ABSENT VOTING

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 2 substituted (30.1.2009) by The European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/186), regs. 1(2), 40, Sch. 3

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Sch. 2 applied (with modifications) (18.2.2012) by The Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (Council Tax Increases) (England) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/444), reg. 1, Sch. 4 para. 1 (with reg. 27)

PART 4 E+W+S ISSUE AND RECEIPT OF POSTAL BALLOT PAPERS

Receipt of Postal Ballot Papers E+W+S

Postal Voting Statements: additional personal identifier verification E+W+S

64.— (1) A local returning officer may on any occasion at which a postal voters’ ballot box is opened in accordance with paragraph 59 undertake verification of the personal identifiers on any postal voting statement that has on a prior occasion been placed in the receptacle for postal voting statements.

(2) Where a local returning officer undertakes additional verification of personal identifiers, he must—

(a) remove as many postal voting statements from the receptacle for postal voting statements as he wishes to subject to additional verification; and

(b) compare the date of birth and the signature on each such postal voting statement against the date of birth and signature contained in the personal identifiers record relating to the person to whom the postal ballot paper was addressed.

(3) Where the local returning officer is no longer satisfied that the postal voting statement has been duly completed he must mark the statement “rejected” and before placing the postal voting statement in the receptacle for rejected votes (verification procedure), he must—

(a) show it to the agents and must permit them to view the entries in the personal identifiers record which relate to the person to whom the postal ballot paper was addressed and, if any of them object to his decision, he must add the words “rejection objected to”;

(b) open any postal ballot box and retrieve the ballot paper corresponding to the ballot paper number on the postal voting statement;

(c) show the ballot paper number on the retrieved ballot paper to the agents; and

(d) attach the ballot paper to the postal voting statement.

(4) Following the removal of a postal ballot paper from a postal ballot box the local returning officer must lock and reseal the postal ballot box in the presence of the agents.

(5) Whilst retrieving a ballot paper in accordance with sub-paragraph (3), the local returning officer and his staff—

(a) must keep the ballot papers face downwards and must take proper precautions for preventing any person seeing the votes made on the ballot papers; and

(b) must not be permitted to view the corresponding number list used at the issue of postal ballot papers.]