Elections Act 2022

Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962

26 (1) Paragraph 12A (illegal practices: voting offences) is amended as follows.

(2) After sub-paragraph (1) insert—

“(1A) A person (“P”) is guilty of an illegal practice if P applies for the appointment of a proxy to vote for P—

(a) at a local election, where P knows that the person to be appointed is already appointed as proxy to vote at that election, or at local elections, for four or more other electors;

(b) at a local election where—

(i) P is or will be registered in the register of local electors otherwise than by virtue of a service qualification, and

(ii) P knows that the person to be appointed is already appointed as proxy to vote at that election, or at local elections, for two or more other electors none of whom is registered in a register of local electors by virtue of a service qualification;

(c) at local elections, where P knows that the person to be appointed is already appointed as proxy to vote at a local election, or at local elections, for four or more other electors;

(d) at local elections, where—

(i) P is or will be registered in the register of local electors otherwise than by virtue of a service qualification, and

(ii) P knows that the person to be appointed is already appointed as proxy to vote at a local election, or at local elections, for two or more other electors none of whom is registered in a register of local electors by virtue of a service qualification.”

(3) For sub-paragraph (4) substitute—

“(4) A person is also guilty of an illegal practice if the person votes as proxy—

(a) for more than four electors—

(i) at a local election, or

(ii) where the polls for two or more local elections are held on the same day, at those elections taken together;

(b) for more than two electors—

(i) at a local election, or

(ii) where the polls for two or more local elections are held on the same day, at those elections taken together,

where the person knows that more than two of those electors are registered in a register of local electors otherwise than by virtue of a service qualification.”

(4) In sub-paragraph (6), after “deemed to have voted” insert “(but see sub-paragraph (6A))”.

(5) After sub-paragraph (6) insert—

“(6A) For the purpose of determining whether an application for a ballot paper constitutes an offence under sub-paragraph (2)(a)(i) or (3)(a)(i), a previous application is to be disregarded if the applicant’s failure to vote on that occasion resulted only from a failure to produce satisfactory proof of identity.”