The Assistance with Voting for Persons with Disabilities (Amendments) Regulations 2022

Amendment of the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections Order 2012

10.—(1) The Police and Crime Commissioner Elections Order 2012(1) is amended as follows.

(2) Schedule 3 (rules for the conduct of PCC elections where poll not taken together with poll at another election) is amended in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4).

(3) In Part 3 (contested PCC elections)—

(a) in rule 29 (equipment of polling stations)—

(i) for paragraph (5)(c) substitute—

“(c) such equipment as it is reasonable to provide for the purposes of enabling, or making it easier for, relevant persons to vote independently in the manner directed by rule 39 (voting procedure), including in relation to voting secretly; and for this purpose “relevant persons” means persons who find it difficult or impossible to vote in that manner because of—

(i) blindness or partial sight; or

(ii) another disability.”;

(ii) after paragraph (5) insert—

“(5A) Paragraph (10) of rule 29 of Schedule 1 to the 1983 Act (Parliamentary elections rules: guidance to returning officers) applies for the purposes of paragraph (5)(c) of this rule as it applies for the purposes of that rule, but as if—

(a) the reference in that paragraph to the returning officer were a reference to the local returning officer, and

(b) the reference in that paragraph to paragraph (3A)(b) were a reference to paragraph (5)(c) of this rule.”;

(iii) omit paragraph (6);

(b) in rule 41(3) (voting by persons with disabilities), for the words from “person” in the second place it occurs to the end substitute “person is aged 18 or over”.

(4) In Part 8 (forms referred to in parts 1 to 7), for form 18 (declaration to be made by companion of a voter with disabilities), substitute the corresponding form in Schedule 5 to these Regulations.

(5) In Schedule 4 (combination of polls), in Part 3 (modifications to PCC elections rules), in rule 24 (equipment of polling stations), in paragraph (4) in the inserted text, renumber paragraph (5A) as paragraph (5ZA).

(1)

S.I. 2012/1917, amended by S.I. 2014/921; there are other amending instruments, but none is relevant.