The Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016

Cancellation of postal signing sheets

98.—(1) Where, on or after the designated day, a registration officer grants a relevant application or receives a relevant notice and the application or notice is not to be disregarded for the purposes of the petition under regulation 71 or 72 (closing date for applications), that officer must immediately notify the petition officer who must—

(a) cancel any postal signing sheet issued to the elector or proxy;

(b) in the case of an application under regulation 53(4)(a), 54(4)(a) or 58(8) (postal signing sheet to be sent to different address), issue a replacement postal signing sheet; and

(c) take any administrative steps which the petition officer considers appropriate for the purpose of preventing an elector signing the petition more than once.

(2) Where a person returns a postal signing sheet that has been or is to be cancelled in accordance with paragraph (1), it must be dealt with as follows—

(a) any postal signing sheet, postal signing statement or declaration of identity (as the case may be), or covering envelope returned to the registration officer must be given to the petition officer;

(b) any document returned in accordance with this paragraph but not already cancelled in accordance with paragraph (1) must be immediately cancelled;

(c) the petition officer, as soon as practicable after receiving and cancelling the documents referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (b), must make them up in a separate packet and must seal the packet, and if on any subsequent occasion further such documents are returned in accordance with this paragraph, the sealed packet must be opened, the additional cancelled documents included in it and the packet must be again made up and sealed.

(3) The petition officer must enter in a list kept for the purpose of recording postal signing sheets cancelled under this regulation (“the list of cancelled postal signing sheets”)—

(a) the name and number of the elector as stated in the register (or the electoral number alone in the case of an elector who has an anonymous entry);

(b) the number of any cancelled postal signing sheet;

(c) the number of any replacement postal signing sheet issued under paragraph (1);

(d) where the postal signer is a proxy, their name and address (or, in the case of a proxy who has an anonymous entry or is the proxy for a person with an anonymous entry, the proxy’s electoral number alone or a statement that the proxy is not registered as an elector (as the case may be)).

(4) The following provisions apply to the issue of a replacement postal signing sheet under paragraph (1)—

(a) regulation 87 (except paragraph (2)) (procedure on issue of postal signing sheets);

(b) regulation 91 (envelopes);

(c) regulation 92 (sealing up of corresponding number lists and security of special lists);

(d) regulation 93 (delivery of postal signing sheets).

(5) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a) a relevant application is an application under—

(i) regulation 51(5)(a) or 52(6)(a) (application to be removed from record),

(ii) regulation 51(6) (application to sign the petition by proxy instead of post),

(iii) regulation 51(7) (application to sign the petition by post instead of proxy),

(iv) regulation 52(7) (application to sign by post or proxy instead of proxy or post respectively),

(v) regulation 53(4)(a) or 54(4)(a) (postal signing sheet to be sent to different address),

(vi) regulation 57(6) and (7) (appointment of proxies),

(vii) regulation 58(8) (application by a postal proxy signer for signing sheet to be sent to different address),

(viii) regulation 58(11)(a) (application for proxy to be removed); and

(b) a relevant notice is a notice under regulation 57(9) (cancellation of proxy appointment).