Subsections (2) and (3) below apply to any document which under or by virtue of this Act is required or authorised to be given to voters or displayed in any place for the purposes of a parliamentary or local government election.

The person required or authorised to give or display the document must also, as he thinks appropriate, make available the information contained in the document in such audible form as he thinks appropriate.

The returning officer at a parliamentary election or a local government election may cause to be displayed at every polling station in the election an enlarged sample copy of the ballot paper.

The returning officer at a parliamentary election or a local government election must provide at every polling station in the election an enlarged hand-held sample copy of the ballot paper for the assistance of voters who are partially sighted.

The sample copy mentioned in subsection (7) above must be clearly marked as a specimen provided only for the guidance of voters.

In the application of subsection (2)(b) to Northern Ireland any question as to whether a person is to give or display or otherwise make available a document in a language other than English is to be decided by the returning officer.

This section does not apply to a local government election in Scotland.

Subsections (2) and (3) below apply to any document which, under or by virtue of this Act, is required or authorised to be given to voters or displayed in any place for the purposes of a local government election in Scotland.

The person required or authorised to give or display the document must also, as he thinks appropriate, make available the information contained in the document in such audible form as he thinks appropriate.

A public notice required by or under this Act to be given by a returning officer for a parliamentary election shall be given by posting the notice in some conspicuous place or places in the constituency and may also be given in such other manner as he thinks desirable for publicising it.

A public notice required by or under this Act to be given by the proper officer of a local authority at a local government election shall be given by posting the notice in some conspicuous place or places in the local government area and may also be given in such other manner as he thinks desirable for publicising it.

Any person before whom a declaration is authorised to be made under this Act may take the declaration.

This section applies where any postal services are provided without charge by a universal service provider in pursuance of this Act.

The universal service provider shall be entitled to be remunerated for having provided the services at the rate fixed in relation to them by virtue of a scheme under section 89 of the Postal Services Act 2000.

A sum which a universal service provider is entitled to receive by virtue of this section shall be charged on, and issued out of, the Consolidated Fund.

In this section “postal services” and “universal service provider” have the same meanings as in the Postal Services Act 2000.

Any power conferred by this Act to make regulations shall, except where this Act otherwise provides, be a power exercisable by the Secretary of State F9and except in the case of regulations under section 29(8)by statutory instrument.

No regulations shall be made under this Act by the Secretary of State otherwise than under F11F12section 110(7) above or section 203(4) below unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

Any regulations under section 110(7) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Any regulations under this Act may make different provision for different cases, circumstances or areas and may contain such incidental, supplemental, saving or transitional provisions as the Secretary of State F15, or the Electoral Commission (in the case of any regulations made by them), thinks fit.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• F16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• F17“anonymous entry”, in relation to a register of electors, shall be construed in accordance with section 9B above and “the record of anonymous entries”, means the record prepared in pursuance of regulations made by virtue of paragraph 8A of Schedule 2 to this Act;

• F18. . .

• F19“citizen of the Union” shall be construed in accordance with Article 8.1 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (as amended by Title II of the Treaty on European Union), and “relevant citizen of the Union” means such a citizen who is not a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland;

• “the City” means the City of London;

• “Clerk of the Crown” means Clerk of the Crown in Chancery;

• “Common Council” means the Common Council of the City;

• F20“disability”, in relation to doing a thing, includes a short term inability to do it;

• F21“dwelling” includes any part of a building where that part is occupied separately as a dwelling;

• “election” means a parliamentary election F22, an Authority election or an election under the local government Act;

• “election court” means—

  1. (a)

     In relation to a parliamentary election petition, the judges presiding at the trial;

  2. (b)

     in relation to a petition questioning F23an Authority election oran election under the local government Act, the court constituted under this Act for the trial of that petition;

• “election petition” means a petition presented in pursuance of Part III of this Act;

• “elector” in relation to an election, means any person F24who has for the time being an entry on the register to be used at that election, but does not include those shown in the register F25(or, in the case of a person who has an anonymous entry in the register, in the record of anonymous entries)as below voting age on the day fixed for the poll;

• “legal incapacity” includes (in addition F26, where applicable,to any incapacity by virtue of any subsisting provision of the common law) any disqualification imposed by this Act or any other Act;

• F27“legal process” means a claim form, application notice, writ, summons or other process;

• F28“the list of proxies” has, in relation to any election, the meaning given by F29paragraph 5(3) of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 or, as respects Northern Ireland, bysection 7 of the Representation of the People Act 1985

• F30“overseas elector’s declaration” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1985

• “parliamentary election petition” means an election petition questioning a parliamentary election or return;

• F31“the postal voters list” means—

  1. (a)

     in relation to England and Wales and Scotland, the list of persons kept in pursuance of paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (persons whose applications to vote by post have been granted);

  2. (b)

     in relation to Northern Ireland, the list of persons kept in pursuance of section 7(4)(a) of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (persons whose applications to vote by post have been granted);

• “the proxy postal voters list” means—

  1. (a)

     in relation to England and Wales and Scotland, the list of persons kept in pursuance of paragraph 7(8) of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (persons whose applications to vote by post as proxy have been granted);

  2. (b)

     in relation to Northern Ireland, the list of persons kept in pursuance of section 9(9) of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (persons whose applications to vote by post as proxy have been granted).

• “parliamentary elections rules” means the parliamentary elections rules in Schedule 1 to this Act;

• “person” includes (without prejudice to the provisions of the M1Interpretation Act 1978) an association corporate or unincorporate;

• “prescribed” except in Part III of this Act means prescribed by regulations;

• F32“proper officer”—

  1. (a)

     in relation to the Greater London Authority, has the same meaning as in the 1999 Act (see section 424(2) of that Act);

  2. (b)

     except as provided by paragraph (a) above, in England and Wales means a proper officer within the meaning of section 270(3) and (4) of the M2Local Government Act 1972;

• F33“qualifying address” shall be construed in accordance with section 9(8) above;

• F34““registered political party” means F35a party registered under Part II of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000;. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F36

• “service voter” means a person who has made a service declaration and is registered or entitled to be registered in pursuance of it;

• F37. . .

• F37. . .

• “sub-agent” has the meaning given by section 68(1) above;

• F38“universal postal service provider” means a universal service provider (within the meaning of the Postal Services Act 2000);

• “voter” means a person voting at an election and includes a person voting as proxy and, except in the parliamentary elections rules, and the rules under section 36 and 42 above, a person voting by proxy, and “vote” (whether noun or verb) shall be construed accordingly, except that in those rules any reference to an elector voting or an elector’s vote shall include a reference to an elector voting by proxy or an elector’s vote given by proxy.

For the purposes of the Repesentation of the People Acts a person shall be deemed not to have attained a given age until the commencement of the relevant anniversary of the day of his birth.

For a reference to a borough constituency substitute a reference to a burgh constituency.

For a reference to the High Court substitute a reference to the Court of Session and for a reference to the county court or a judge of that court substitute a reference to the sheriff.

The power conferred by section 57 above on the Court of Session to make acts of sederunt for the appointment of judges to hear appeals under that section or to fill any vacancy among the judges so appointed is not required to be exercisable by statutory instrument.

A reference to the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Attorney General refers to the Lord Advocate.

for a reference to a plaintiff or defendant substitute respectively a reference to a pursuer or defender, for a reference to a recognisance substitute a reference to a bond of caution and for a reference to an injunction substitute a reference to an interdict.

Any reference to the report of an election court shall, in relation to an election court trying a petition questioning an election of councillors in Scotland, be construed as a reference to a finding of the court, and the expression “reported of a corrupt or illegal practice” shall be construed accordingly.

For a reference to the register of licences substitute a reference to the register kept in pursuance of section 20 of the M5Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976.

Section 231 of the M6Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (application to sheriff in cases of difficulty) applies to the provisions of sections 41 to 45 above as that section applied to those provisions immediately before their repeal and reenactment by this Act.

Notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of sections 19 and 43 of the Representation of the M7People Act 1918, those sections shall continue to have such effect as they had immediately before that repeal in relation to regulation 16 of section 2 of the M8Universities Elections Amendment (Scotland) Act 1881.

Nothing in this Act affects the law relating to local government in Northern Ireland.

This Act may be cited as the Representation of the People Act 1983, and is included among the Acts which may be cited as the Representation of the People Acts.

This Act shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument appoint.