The Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums)(England) Regulations 2012

Questions to be put to voters and proxies E+W

26.—(1) At the time of the application for a ballot paper (but not afterwards), the questions specified in the second column of the following Table—

(a) may be put by the presiding officer to a person applying for a ballot paper who is mentioned in the first column; and

(b) must be put if the letter “R” appears after the question and a petition organiser or a polling observer requires the question to be put:

Q no	Person applying for ballot paper	Question
1	A person applying as a voter	[F1 (za) What is your name?]
		[F1 (zb) What is your address?]
		(a)—Are you the person registered in the register of local government electors for this voting area as follows?
		(read the whole entry from the register) [R]
		(b)—Have you already voted here or elsewhere at this referendum, otherwise than as proxy for some other person? [R]
2	A person applying as proxy	[F1 (za) What is your name?]
		[F1 (zb) What is your name?]
		(a)—Are you the person whose name appears as AB in the list of proxies for this voting area as entitled to vote as proxy on behalf of CD? [R]
		(b)—Have you already voted here or elsewhere at this referendum as proxy on behalf of CD? [R]
		(c)—Are you the spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild of CD? [R]
3	A person applying as proxy for a voter with an anonymous entry (instead of the questions at entry 2)	[F1 (za) What is your name?]
		[F1 (zb) What is your address?]
		(a)—Are you the person entitled to vote as proxy on behalf of the voter whose number on the register of electors is (read out the number)? [R]
		(b)—Have you already voted here or elsewhere as proxy on behalf of the voter whose number on the register of electors is (read out the number)? [R]
		(c)—Are you the spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild of the person whose number on the register of electors is (read out the number)? [R]
4	A person applying as proxy if the question at entry 2(c) or 3(c) is not answered in the affirmative	Have you already voted at this referendum on behalf of two persons of whom you are not the spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild? [R]
5	A person applying as a voter in relation to whom there is an entry in the postal voters list	[F1 (za) What is your name?]
		[F1 (zb) What is your address?]
		(a)—Did you apply to vote by post?
		(b)—Why have you not voted by post?
6	A person applying as proxy who is named in the proxy postal voters list	[F1 (za) What is your name?]
		[F1 (zb) What is your address?]
		(a)—Did you apply to vote by post as proxy?
		(b)—Why have you not voted by post as proxy?

(2) In the case of a person in respect of whom a notice has been issued under section 13B(3B) or (3D) of the 1983 Act, the references in the questions at entries 1(a) and 3(a), (b) and (c) to reading from the register shall be taken as references to reading from the notice issued under section 13B(3B) or (3D) of the 1983 Act.

[F2 (2A) Where a clerk—

(a) gives a person the required information (see paragraph (5)),

(b) puts a question specified in paragraph (1) to the person, and

(c) decides that the person has failed to answer the question satisfactorily,

the clerk must refer the matter to the presiding officer, who must put the question to the person again.]

[F3 (3) Where the presiding officer—

(a) gives the person the required information,

(b) puts a question specified in paragraph (1) to the person (whether or not following a referral under paragraph (2A)), and

(c) decides that the person has failed to answer the question satisfactorily,

the officer must refuse to deliver a ballot paper to the person (and see rule 32A for the procedure where a ballot paper is refused under this paragraph).

(3A) For the purposes of this rule, a person answers the question “What is your name?” or “What is your address?” satisfactorily if—

(a) where one of those questions is put, the answer matches a name or address (as the case may be) in the register of electors;

(b) where both those questions are put, the answers match a name and address in that register that relate to the same person.

(3B) In the case of a person in respect of whom a notice has been issued under section 13B(3B) or (3D) of the 1983 Act, the references to the register in paragraph (3A) are to be read as references to the notice issued under section 13B(3B) or (3D).]

(4) Except as authorised by this rule, no inquiry shall be permitted as to the right of any person to vote [F4 (and for the purposes of this paragraph, an inquiry relating to the production of identification by a person is not to be regarded as an inquiry as to the right of the person to vote)] .

[F5 (5) For the purposes of this rule, a person to whom any question is to be put is given “the required information” if the person is first informed that—

(a) a ballot paper will be refused if the person fails to answer each question satisfactorily, and

(b) giving false information may be an offence.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Sch. 5 rule 26 Table inserted (16.1.2023) by The Voter Identification Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1382), regs. 1(3), 50(7)(a) (with reg. 1(6)(7))

F2 Sch. 5 rule 26(2A) inserted (16.1.2023) by The Voter Identification Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1382), regs. 1(3), 50(7)(b) (with reg. 1(6)(7))

F3 Sch. 5 rule 26(3)-(3B) substituted for Sch. 5 rule 26(3) (16.1.2023) by The Voter Identification Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1382), regs. 1(3), 50(7)(c) (with reg. 1(6)(7))

F4 Words in Sch. 5 rule 26(4) inserted (16.1.2023) by The Voter Identification Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1382), regs. 1(3), 50(7)(d) (with reg. 1(6)(7))

F5 Sch. 5 rule 26(5) inserted (16.1.2023) by The Voter Identification Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1382), regs. 1(3), 50(7)(e) (with reg. 1(6)(7))