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.

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

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.

Subsections (2) and (3) 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 Wales.

P must, as P thinks appropriate, make available the information contained in the document in such audible form as P 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 F60universal postal service provider in pursuance of this Act.

The F60universal postal 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 F60universal postal 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” has the meaning given by section 27 of the Postal Services Act 2011.

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 F5and 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 F7F8section F6310(4) or 110(7) above or section 203(4) F77or 203A(2) 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 F6410(4) or 110(7) above F78or section 203A(2) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Regulations made for the purposes only of omitting a particular kind of evidence from the kinds of evidence that a person is or may be required to provide by virtue of regulations under paragraph 1(2A) or 3ZA(3) of Schedule 2 shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament (and subsection (2) does not apply to regulations made for those purposes only).

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 F11, or the Electoral Commission (in the case of any regulations made by them), thinks fit.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• F15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• F16“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;

• F17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• C22F18“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;

• F19“disability”, in relation to doing a thing, includes a short term inability to do it;

• F20“dwelling” includes any part of a building where that part is occupied separately as a dwelling;

• “election” means a parliamentary electionF21, 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 F22an Authority election or an 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 F23who 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 F24(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 additionF25, 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;

• F26“legal process” means a claim form, application notice, writ, summons or other process;

• F27“the list of proxies” has, in relation to any election, the meaning given by F28paragraph 5(3) of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 or, as respects Northern Ireland, by section 7 of the Representation of the People Act 1985

• F75“overseas elector’s declaration” means a declaration made under and in accordance with section 1C of the Representation of the People Act 1985;

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

• F29“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;

• C23“prescribed” except in Part III of this Act means prescribed by regulations;

• F30“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;

• F31“qualifying address” shall be construed in accordance with section 9(8) above;

• F67"qualifying foreign national” means a person of any nationality who—

  1. (a)

     is not a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, and

  2. (b)

     either—

     1. (i)

        is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or

     2. (ii)

        is such a person but for the time being has (or is, by virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having) any description of such leave,

• F32“registered political party” means F33a party registered under Part II of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000;

• F74“service declaration” means a declaration made by a person under and in accordance with section 15;

• F34. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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

• F35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• F35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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

• F36“universal postal service provider” means a universal service provider (within the meaning of F62Part 3 of the Postal Services Act 2011);

• “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 F70, 36A 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 Representation 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.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, in relation to England and Wales—

• F37. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• F38“Assembly constituency” has the same meaning as in the 1999 Act (see section 2(4) and (5) of that Act);

• F38“Authority election” means—

  1. a

     any election of the Mayor of London;

  2. b

     any election of a constituency member of the London Assembly; or

  3. c

     the election of the London members of the London Assembly at an ordinary election;

• F38“constituency member”, in relation to the London Assembly, has the same meaning as in the 1999 Act;

• F38“election of a constituency member of the London Assembly” means—

  1. a

     any such election at an ordinary election; or

  2. b

     an election under section 10 of the 1999 Act (election to fill a vacancy in an Assembly constituency);

• F38“election of the Mayor of London” means—

  1. a

     any such election at an ordinary election; or

  2. b

     an election under section 16 of the 1999 Act (election to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor of London);

• F39“electoral area” means

  1. a

     F71in England, any electoral division or ward or, in the case of a parish in which there are no wards, the parish, for which the election of councillors is held under the local government Act;

  2. aa

     F71in Wales, any electoral ward of a county council or county borough council or community ward or, in the case of a community in which there are no wards, the community, for which the election of councillors is held under the local government Act;

  3. b

     F40Greater London, in the case of—

     1. i

        any election of the Mayor of London; or

     2. ii

        the election of the London members of the London Assembly at an ordinary election;

  4. c

     any Assembly constituency for which the election of a constituency member of the London Assembly is held;

• F79“EU citizen with retained rights” has the meaning given by section 203B;

• “local authority” means F41the Greater London Authority, a county council F42a county borough council,, F43. . . a district council, a London borough council F44 . . . or a parish or community council;

• “local government Act” means the M3Local Government Act 1972 F45 . . .;

• “local government area” means F46Greater London,a county F47county borough,, London borough F48. . . , district, parish or community;

• “local government election” means

  1. a

     F49 the election of councillors for any electoral area F50; or

  2. b

     any Authority election

• F38“London member”, in relation to the London Assembly, has the same meaning as in the 1999 Act;

• F79“qualifying EU citizen” has the meaning given by section 203A;

• F66“qualifying foreign citizen” means a person who—

  1. (a)

     is not a Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or a relevant citizen of the Union, and

  2. (b)

     either—

     1. (i)

        is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or

     2. (ii)

        is such a person but for the time being has (or is, by virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having) any description of such leave.

• F73“simple majority system” has the meaning given by section 6(1) of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021;

• ”single transferable vote system” has the meaning given by section 6(2) of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.

• F38“the 1999 Act” means the Greater London Authority Act 1999;

Any reference in this Act to a registered political party submitting a list of candidates to be London members of the London Assembly at an ordinary election shall be construed in accordance with section 4(5)(a) of, and Part II of Schedule 2 to, the 1999 Act; and related expressions shall be construed accordingly.

The modifications made by subsection (2) above do not affect section 52(4) above.

For the purposes of section 265 of the M4Local Government Act 1972 (application to Isles of Scilly) the provisions of this Act as to rules made by the Secretary of State under section 36 above shall be deemed to be contained in a public general Act relating to local government.

The Secretary of State may by regulations remove a country from the list in Schedule 6A where the country ceases to be a party to a relevant treaty to which the United Kingdom is also a party.

In this section—

• “the Islands” means the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;

• “qualifying country” means a country—

  1. a

     that was a member State immediately before IP completion day, other than the Republic of Ireland,

  2. b

     that was part of a member State immediately before IP completion day, other than the Republic of Ireland, or

  3. c

     that is formed entirely of two or more former countries, both or all of which were member States immediately before IP completion day, other than the Republic of Ireland;

• “ratification”, in relation to a treaty, is to be construed in accordance with section 25(3) of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010;

• “relevant treaty” means a treaty containing provision relating to eligibility to vote and to stand as a candidate at elections;

• “treaty” has the same meaning as in Part 2 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (see section 25 of that Act).

In determining whether the requirement in subsection (5)(a) is met in relation to a person, any period to which subsection (7) applies is to be disregarded if the person was resident in the United Kingdom or any of the Islands during the period.

In this section a reference to a person having UK or Islands leave includes a reference to a person who is, by virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having such leave.

In this section—

• “the 1971 Act” means the Immigration Act 1971;

• “the Islands” means the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;

• “the relevant date” means 30 June 2021;

• “immigration rules” has the same meaning as in the 1971 Act;

• “residence scheme immigration rules” means—

  1. a

     residence scheme immigration rules within the meaning of Part 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (see section 17(1) of that Act),

  2. b

     Appendix EU to the Guernsey immigration rules,

  3. c

     Appendix EU to the Isle of Man immigration rules, or

  4. d

     Appendix EU(J) to the Jersey immigration rules;

• “UK or Islands leave” means leave under the 1971 Act to enter or remain in the United Kingdom or any of the Islands.

In this section—

• “Guernsey immigration rules” means the rules made in respect of the Bailiwick of Guernsey under sections 1(4) and 3(2) of the 1971 Act as extended to that Bailiwick;

• “Isle of Man immigration rules” means the rules made in respect of the Isle of Man under section 3(2) of the 1971 Act as extended to the Isle of Man;

• “Jersey immigration rules” means the rules contained in the directions made in respect of the Bailiwick of Jersey under sections 1(4A) and 3(2) of the 1971 Act as extended to that Bailiwick.

This section has (in addition to any express application elsewhere in this Act) effect for the general application of this Act to Scotland, and accordingly—

• “electoral area”, in relation to a local government election, means the electoral F55. . . ward for which the election is held;

• F56“local authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994

• “local government Act” means the F57Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 9);

• F58“local government area” means the area of a local authority;

• “local government election” means an election of councillors by local government electors for an electoral area.

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.