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- Point in Time (24/12/2013)
- Original (As made)
Version Superseded: 15/09/2014
Point in time view as at 24/12/2013.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the The European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2004, CHAPTER 2.
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Textual Amendments
F1Sch. 1 substituted (27.3.2009) by The European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/813), regs. 1(2), 38, Sch. 1
24.—(1) The returning officer must in the statement of candidates nominated include a notice of the poll, stating the day on which and hours during which the poll will be taken.
(2) The returning officer must also give public notice of—
(a)the situation of each polling station;
(b)the description of voters entitled to vote there;
and must as soon as practicable after giving such notice give a copy of it to each of the election agents.
25.—(1) The returning officer must, in accordance with Schedule 2, issue to those entitled to vote by post a ballot paper and a declaration of identity in the form set out in that Schedule, together with such envelopes for their return as are specified in that Schedule.
(2) In accordance with regulation 111A, the returning officer must also issue to those entitled to vote by post such information as he thinks appropriate about how to obtain—
(a)translations into languages other than English of any directions to or guidance for voters sent with the ballot paper;
(b)a translation into Braille of such directions or guidance;
(c)graphical representations of such directions or guidance;
(d)the directions or guidance in any other form (including any audible form).
(3) The returning officer must ensure that the return of the ballot paper and the declaration of identity is free of charge to the voter.
26.—(1) The returning officer must provide a sufficient number of polling stations and, subject to the following provisions of this rule, must allot the electors to the polling stations in such manner as he thinks most convenient.
(2) One or more polling stations may be provided in the same room.
(3) The polling station allotted to electors from any polling district must be in the polling place for that district.
(4) The returning officer must provide each polling station with such number of compartments as may be necessary in which the voters can mark their votes screened from observation.
27.—(1) The returning officer must appoint and pay a presiding officer to attend at each polling station and such clerks as may be necessary for the purposes of the election, but he must not appoint any person who has been employed by or on behalf of a candidate in or about the election.
(2) The returning officer may, if he thinks fit, preside at a polling station and the provisions of these rules relating to a presiding officer apply to a returning officer so presiding with the necessary modifications as to things to be done by the returning officer to the presiding officer or by the presiding officer to the returning officer.
(3) A presiding officer may do, by the clerks appointed to assist him, any act (including the asking of questions) which he is required or authorised by these rules to do at a polling station except order the arrest, exclusion or removal of any person from the polling station or refuse to deliver a ballot paper under paragraph (4) of rule 39 (including that paragraph as applied by rules 40, 41 and 42).
28.—(1) The returning officer must appoint verifying officers to attend at such places as he considers necessary for the purposes of the verification of the ballot paper accounts and such clerks as may be necessary for the purposes of the verification, but he shall not appoint a person who has been employed by or on behalf of a candidate in or about the election.
(2) The returning officer may, if he thinks fit, act as a verifying officer and the provisions of these rules relating to a returning officer shall apply to a returning officer so acting, with the necessary modifications as to things to be done by the returning officer to the verifying officer or by the verifying officer to the returning officer.
(3) A verifying officer may do, by the clerks appointed to assist him, any act which he is required or authorised by these rules to do.
29.—(1) The returning officer must as soon as practicable after the publication of the notice of election send to electors and their proxies the appropriate official poll card, but a card need not be sent to any person—
(a)as an elector if he is placed on the absent voters list for the election; or
(b)as a proxy if he is entitled to vote by post as proxy at the election,
and a card must not be sent to any person registered, or to be registered, in pursuance of an overseas elector’s declaration.
(2) An elector’s official poll card must be sent or delivered to his qualifying address, and a proxy’s to his address as shown in the list of proxies.
(3) The official poll card issued to an elector must be in Form F in the Appendix of Forms.
(4) The official poll card issued to the proxy of an elector must be in Form G in the Appendix of Forms.
(5) The official poll card must set out—
(a)the name of the electoral region;
(b)the elector’s name, qualifying address and number on the register;
(c)the date and hours of the poll and the situation of the elector’s polling station;
(d)such other information as the returning officer thinks appropriate,
and different information may be provided in pursuance of sub-paragraph (d) to different electors or descriptions of elector.
(6) In this rule “elector” has the same meaning as in regulation 58(4) and, pending publication of the register, the elector’s number in the register includes his number (if any) in the electors list for that register.
30.—(1) The returning officer must provide each presiding officer with such number of ballot boxes and ballot papers as in the returning officer’s opinion may be necessary.
(2) Every ballot box must be so constructed that the ballot papers can be put in it, but cannot be withdrawn from it, without the box being unlocked or, where the box has no lock, the seal being broken.
(3) The returning officer must provide each polling station with—
(a)materials to enable voters to mark the ballot papers;
(b)copies of the register of electors or such part of it as contains the names of the electors allotted to the station;
(c)the parts of any special lists prepared for the election corresponding to the register of electors or such part of it as provided under sub-paragraph (b);
(d)Form C prepared under rule 20(3) which contains the numbers (but not the other unique identifying marks) corresponding to those on the ballot papers provided to the presiding officer of the polling station.
(4) The reference in paragraph (3)(b) to the copies of the registers of electors includes a reference to copies of any notices issued under section 13BA(9) of the 1983 Act in respect of alterations to the register.
(5) The returning officer must also provide each polling station with—
(a)at least one large version of the ballot paper which must be displayed inside the polling station for the assistance of voters who are partially sighted; and
(b)a device of such description as is set out in paragraph (9) for enabling voters who are blind or partially sighted to vote without any need for assistance from the presiding officer or any companion (within the meaning of rule 41).
(6) A notice in Form H in the Appendix of Forms, giving directions for the guidance of voters in voting, must be printed in conspicuous characters and exhibited inside and outside every polling station.
(7) In every compartment of every polling station there must be exhibited the notice—
“Remember—use 1,2,3 etc. at this election—this is an election by proportional representation. Number the candidates in order of your preference putting “1” against the candidate of your first preference and so on. You should not put the same preference against more than one candidate. You may show your preference for as many or as few candidates as you wish”.
(8) Where proof has been given to the returning officer’s satisfaction of the death of a candidate, he must provide each presiding officer with sufficient number of notices to this effect for display in every compartment of every polling station.
(9) The device referred to in paragraph (5)(b) must—
(a)allow a ballot paper to be inserted into and removed from or attached to and detached from the device, easily and without damage to the paper;
(b)keep the ballot paper firmly in place during use;
(c)provide suitable means for the voter to identify—
(i)the spaces on the ballot paper on which he may mark his vote; and
(ii)the candidate to whom each such space refers.
31.—(1) The election agent or sub-agent of a candidate or any person authorised in writing by such an agent or that candidate may, before the commencement of the poll, appoint—
(a)polling agents to attend at polling stations for the purpose of detecting personation; and
(b)counting agents to attend at the verification of the ballot paper accounts and the counting of the votes.
(2) One (but no more than one) counting agent of each candidate may be authorised by the terms of his appointment to require a re-count at that count.
(3) The returning officer or, as the case may be, verifying officer may limit the number of counting agents, so that—
(a)the number must be the same in the case of each candidate; and
(b)the number allowed to a candidate must not (except in special circumstances) be less than the number obtained by dividing the number of clerks employed on the verification of the ballot paper accounts or the counting of the votes by the number obtained by adding together the number of candidates.
(4) Notice in writing of the appointment, stating the names and addresses of the persons appointed, must be given by the person by whom the appointment was made to the returning officer and must be given not later than the [F2fifth] day (computed like any period of time in the timetable) before the day of the poll.
(5) If an agent dies, or becomes incapable of acting, the person by whom the appointment was made may appoint another agent in his place, and must forthwith give to the returning officer notice in writing of the name and address of the agent appointed.
(6) In the following provisions of these rules references to polling agents and counting agents must be taken as references to agents—
(a)whose appointments have been duly made and notified; and
(b)where the number of agents is restricted, who are within the permitted numbers.
(7) Any notice required to be given to a counting agent by the returning officer may be delivered at, or sent by post to, the address stated in the notice of appointment.
(8) A candidate may himself do any act or thing which any polling or counting agent of his, if appointed, would have been authorised to do, or may assist any such agent in doing any such act or thing.
(9) The election agent or sub-agent of a candidate may do or assist in doing anything which a polling or counting agent of that candidate is authorised to do; and anything required or authorised by these rules to be done in the presence of the polling or counting agents may be done in the presence of the election agent or sub-agent of a candidate instead of that candidate’s polling agent or counting agents.
(10) Where by these rules any act or thing is required or authorised to be done in the presence of the polling or counting agents, the non-attendance of any agent or agents at the time and place appointed for the purpose will not, if the act or thing is otherwise duly done, invalidate the act or thing done.
Textual Amendments
F2Word in Sch. 1 rule 31(4) substituted (6.12.2013) by The European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/3114), regs. 1(1), 2(2)
32. The returning officer must make such arrangements as he thinks fit to ensure that—
(a)every person attending at a polling station (otherwise than for the purpose of voting or assisting a voter with disabilities to vote or as a constable on duty there) has been given a copy in writing of the provisions of paragraphs (1), (4) and (7) of regulation 30; and
(b)every person attending at the verification of the ballot paper accounts or the counting of the votes (other than any constable on duty at the counting) has been given a copy in writing of the provisions of paragraphs (2), (3) and (7) of that regulation.
33.—(1) Where—
(a)a postal vote has been returned in respect of a person who is entered on the absent voters list, or
(b)a proxy postal vote has been returned in respect of a proxy who is entered on the proxy postal voters list,
the returning officer must mark the list as provided for in paragraph 31(5) of Schedule 2.
(2) Rule 50(2) does not apply for the purpose of determining whether, for the purposes of this rule, a postal vote or a proxy postal vote is returned.]
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