Election (Northern Ireland) Act 1985

2 Further provisions.

(1) Schedule 1 to the 1983 Act shall be further amended as mentioned in subsections (2) to (4).

(2) At the end of rule 26(3) (clerks may do what presiding officer may do, with the exceptions) there shall be inserted “or refuse to deliver a ballot paper under paragraph (1C) of rule 37 (including that paragraph as applied by rule 38, 39 or 40).”

(3) The following minor amendments shall be made—

(a) in rule 37(1) for “A” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraphs (1A) to (1G) below, a”;

(b) in rule 38(1) for “The” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraph (1A) below, the”;

(c) in rule 39(2) for “If” there shall be substituted “Subject to paragraph (2A) below, if”.

(4) After rule 40 there shall be inserted—

“Refusal to deliver ballot paper

40A(1) This rule applies where a presiding officer refuses to deliver a ballot paper under paragraph (1C) of rule 37 (including that paragraph as applied by rule 38, 39 or 40).

(2) The refusal shall be subject to review on an election petition but, subject to that, shall be final and shall not be questioned in any proceeding whatsoever.”

(5) The following shall be inserted after section 61(6) of the 1983 Act (voting offences)—

“(6A) Where a person is alleged to have committed an offence under subsection (2)(a)(i) or (3)(a)(i) above by voting on a second or subsequent occasion at a parliamentary election, he shall not be deemed by virtue of subsection (6) above to have voted by applying on a previous occasion for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person unless he then marked a tendered ballot paper under rule 40(1C) of the parliamentary election rules.”