Textual Amendments
F1Sch. 2 substituted (30.1.2009) by The European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/186), regs. 1(2), 40, Sch. 3
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Sch. 2 applied (with modifications) (18.2.2012) by The Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (Council Tax Increases) (England) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/444), reg. 1, Sch. 4 para. 1 (with reg. 27)
1.—(1) In this Schedule—
“absent voter” means an elector who is entitled to vote by proxy or an elector or proxy who is entitled to vote by postF2...;
“allotted polling station” has the meaning set out in paragraph 23(8);
“valid postal voting statement” means a postal voting statement which, in accordance with paragraph 62 or 63, the local returning officer is satisfied has been duly completed.
(2) A reference in this Schedule to a form identified by means of a letter is to be construed as a reference to the form so identified in the Appendix to this Schedule.
(3) Unless otherwise stated, a reference in this Schedule to a numbered paragraph or Part is to a paragraph or Part bearing that number in this Schedule.
Textual Amendments
F2Words in Sch. 2 para. 1(1) omitted (1.1.2014) by virtue of The European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/2876), regs. 1(2), 32
2.—(1) This paragraph applies to determine the manner of voting of a person entitled to vote as an elector at a European Parliamentary election.
(2) He may vote in person at his allotted polling station, unless he is entitled as an elector to an absent vote at the election.
(3) He may vote by post if he is entitled as an elector to vote by post at the election.
(4) If he is entitled to vote by proxy at the election, he may so vote unless, before a ballot paper has been issued for him to vote by proxy, he applies at the polling station allotted to him under European Parliamentary elections rules for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person, in which case he may vote in person there.
(5) If—
(a)he is not entitled as an elector to an absent vote at the election, but
(b)he cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to the allotted polling station by reason of the particular circumstances of his employment, either as a constable or by the local returning officer, on the date of the poll for a purpose connected with the election,
he may vote in person at any polling station in the local counting area.
[F3(5A) In the application of sub-paragraph (5) to an election in England or Wales, a reference to a constable includes a person designated as a community support officer under section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002 (police powers for civilian staff).]
(6) Nothing in the preceding provisions of this paragraph applies to a person to whom section 7 of the 1983 Act (residence: patients in mental hospitals who are not detained offenders or on remand) or, in Gibraltar, paragraph 10 of Schedule 4 to these Regulations applies and who is liable, by virtue of any enactment, to be detained in the mental hospital in question, whether he is registered by virtue of that provision or not; and such a person may vote—
(a)in person (where he is granted permission to be absent from the hospital and voting in person does not breach any condition attached to that permission), or
(b)by post or by proxy (where he is entitled as an elector to vote by post or, as the case may be, by proxy at the election).
(7) Nothing in the preceding provisions of this paragraph applies to a person to whom section 7A of the 1983 Act (residence: persons remanded in custody etc.) or in Gibraltar, paragraph 11 of Schedule 4 to these Regulations applies, whether he is registered by virtue of that provision or not; and such a person may only vote by post or by proxy (where he is entitled as an elector to vote by post or, as the case may be, by proxy at the election).
(8) Sub-paragraph (2) does not prevent a person, at his allotted polling station, marking a tendered ballot paper in pursuance of rule 44(4) or (6) of the European Parliamentary elections rules.
(9) For the purposes of the provisions of–
(a)these Regulations, and
(b)the 1983 Act, the 2002 Act and the 2003 Act,
a person entitled to vote as an elector at a European Parliamentary election is entitled as an elector to vote by post or entitled to vote by proxy at the election if sub-paragraph (10) or (11) (as the case may be) applies to him in relation to that election; and references in those provisions to entitlement as an elector to an absent vote at a European Parliamentary election are references to entitlement as an elector to vote by post or entitlement to vote by proxy at the election.
(10) This sub-paragraph applies to a person who is shown in the postal voters list mentioned in paragraph 5(2) as entitled to vote by post at an election.
(11) This sub-paragraph applies to a person who is shown in the list of proxies mentioned in paragraph 5(3) as entitled to vote by proxy at an election.
Textual Amendments
F3Sch. 2 para. 2(5A) inserted (1.1.2014) by The European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/2876), regs. 1(2), 33
3.—(1) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post at European Parliamentary elections (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application), the registration officer must grant the application if—
(a)he is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register of electors; and
(b)the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements of Part 2.
(2) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by proxy at European Parliamentary elections (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application), the registration officer must grant the application if—
(a)he is satisfied that the applicant is eligible to vote by proxy at elections to which the application relates;
(b)he is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register of electors; and
(c)the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements of Part 2.
(3) For the purposes of this paragraph a person is eligible to vote by proxy at European Parliamentary elections if—
(a)he is or will be registered as a service voter;
(b)he has an anonymous entry in the register of electors for the election;
(c)he cannot reasonably be expected—
(i)to go in person to the polling station allotted or likely to be allotted to him under the European Parliamentary elections rules, or
(ii)to vote unaided there,
by reason of blindness or other disability;
(d)he cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to that polling station by reason of the general nature of his occupation, service or employment or that of his spouse or civil partner, or by reason of his attendance on a course provided by an educational institution or that of his spouse or civil partner; or
(e)he cannot go in person from his qualifying address to that polling station without making a journey by air or sea,
and a person is also eligible to vote by proxy at European Parliamentary elections if he is or will be registered in pursuance of an overseas elector’s declaration or a European Parliamentary overseas elector’s declaration.
(4) The registration officer must keep a record of those whose applications under this paragraph have been granted showing—
(a)whether their applications were to vote by post or proxy for an indefinite or a particular period (specifying that period);
(b)in the case of those who may vote by post, the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent; and
(c)in the case of those who may vote by proxy, the names and addresses of those appointed as their proxies.
(5) The registration officer must remove a person from the record—
(a)if he applies to the registration officer to be removed;
(b)in the case of a person who is eligible to vote by proxy by virtue of having an anonymous entry, if he ceases to have an anonymous entry;
(c)in the case of any registered person, if he ceases to be registered or registered at the same qualifying address or ceases to be, or becomes, registered in pursuance of—
(i)a service declaration,
(ii)a declaration of local connection, or
(iii)an overseas elector’s declaration,
(d)in the case of any person shown in the record as voting by proxy, if the registration officer gives notice that he has reason to believe there has been a material change of circumstances; or
(e)in the case of a person who applied to vote by post or proxy for a particular period, once that period has expired.
(6) A person shown in the record as voting by post may subsequently alter his choice by applying to the registration officer to vote by proxy instead (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application); and, if the registration officer would be required to grant that application if it were one made under sub-paragraph (2), the registration officer must amend the record accordingly.
(7) A person shown in the record as voting by proxy may subsequently alter his choice by applying to the registration officer to vote by post instead (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application); and, if the application meets the requirements of Part 2, the registration officer must amend the record accordingly.
(8) The registration officer may dispense with the requirement under sub-paragraph (1)(b) or sub-paragraph (2)(c) for the applicant to provide a signature if he is satisfied that the applicant is unable—
(a)to provide a signature because of any disability the applicant has;
(b)to provide a signature because the applicant is unable to read or write; or
(c)to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any such disability or inability.
(9) The registration officer must also keep a record in relation to those whose applications under this paragraph have been granted showing—
(a)their dates of birth;
(b)except in cases where the registration officer in pursuance of sub-paragraph (8) has dispensed with the requirement to provide a signature, their signatures.
(10) The record kept under sub-paragraph (9) must be retained by the registration officer for the period calculated by reference to paragraph 18(1).
4.—(1) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post at a particular European Parliamentary election, the registration officer must grant the application if—
(a)he is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register of electors; and
(b)the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements of Part 2.
(2) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by proxy at a particular European Parliamentary election, the registration officer must grant the application if—
(a)he is satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances on the date of the poll will be or are likely to be such that he cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at the polling station allotted or likely to be allotted to him under the European Parliamentary elections rules;
(b)he is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register of electors; and
(c)the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements of Part 2.
(3) Where a person who has an anonymous entry in the register of electors applies to the registration officer to vote by proxy at a particular election the registration officer must grant the application if it meets the requirements of Part 2.
(4) Nothing in sub-paragraph (1) or (2) applies to a person who is included in the record by virtue of paragraph 3, but such a person may, in respect of a particular European Parliamentary election, apply to the registration officer—
(a)for his ballot paper to be sent to a different address from that shown in the record; or
(b)to vote by proxy;
if he is shown in the record as voting by post at elections of the kind in question.
(5) The registration officer must grant an application under sub-paragraph (4) if—
(a)(in the case of any application) it meets the requirements of Part 2; and
(b)(in the case of an application to vote by proxy) the registration officer is satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances on the date of the poll will be or are likely to be such that he cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at the polling station allotted or likely to be allotted to him under the European Parliamentary elections rules.
(6) The registration officer may dispense with the requirement under sub-paragraph (1)(b) or (2)(c) for the applicant to provide a signature if he is satisfied that the applicant is unable—
(a)to provide a signature because of any disability the applicant has;
(b)to provide a signature because the applicant is unable to read or write; or
(c)to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any such disability or inability.
(7) The registration officer must also keep a record in relation to those whose applications under this paragraph have been granted showing—
(a)their dates of birth;
(b)except in cases where the registration officer in pursuance of sub-paragraph (6) has dispensed with the requirement to provide a signature, their signatures.
(8) The record kept under sub-paragraph (7) must be retained by the registration officer for the period required by paragraph 18(1).
5.—(1) The registration officer must, in respect of each European Parliamentary election, keep two special lists mentioned in sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) respectively.
(2) The first of those lists is a list (“the postal voters list”) of—
(a)those whose applications under paragraph 4(1) to vote by post at the election have been granted, together with the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent; and
(b)those who are for the time being shown in the record kept under paragraph 3 as voting by post at European Parliamentary elections (excluding those so shown whose applications under paragraph 4(4)(b) to vote by proxy at the election have been granted), together with the addresses provided by them in their applications under paragraph 3 or, as the case may be, paragraph 4(4)(a) as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent.
(3) The second of the lists mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) is a list (“the list of proxies”) of—
(a)those whose applications under paragraph 4(2) or 4(4) to vote by proxy at the election have been granted; and
(b)those who are for the time being shown in the record kept under paragraph 3 as voting by proxy at elections of the kind in question,
together with (in each case) the names and addresses of those appointed as their proxies.
(4) In the case of a person who has an anonymous entry in a register the postal voters list or list of proxies (as the case may be) must show in relation to the person only—
(a)his electoral number, and
(b)the period for which the anonymous entry has effect.
(5) The registration officer must, forthwith on completion of the compilation of those special lists, [F4or at any time at the request of the local returning officer,] supply to the local returning officer for any local counting area F5... within the area for which he acts so much of those lists as relate to that counting area.
Textual Amendments
F4Words in Sch. 2 para. 5(5) inserted (1.1.2014) by The European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/2876), regs. 1(2), 34(a)
F5Words in Sch. 2 para. 5(5) omitted (1.1.2014) by virtue of The European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/2876), regs. 1(2), 34(b)
6.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, any person is capable of being appointed proxy to vote for an elector at any European Parliamentary election and may vote in pursuance of the appointment.
(2) The elector cannot have more than one person at a time appointed as proxy to vote for him at European Parliamentary elections (whether in the same electoral region or elsewhere).
(3) A person is not capable of being appointed to vote, or voting, as proxy at a European Parliamentary election—
(a)if he is subject to any legal incapacity (age apart) to vote at that election as an elector; or
(b)he is neither a Commonwealth citizen nor a citizen of the Union.
(4) A person is not capable of voting as proxy at a European Parliamentary election unless on the date of the poll he has attained the age of 18.
(5) A person is not entitled to vote as proxy at the same European Parliamentary election in any electoral region, on behalf of more than two electors of whom that person is not the spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild.
(6) Where the elector applies to the registration officer for the appointment of a proxy to vote for him at European Parliamentary elections, the registration officer must make the appointment if the application meets the requirements of Part 2 and he is satisfied that the elector is or will be—
(a)registered in the register of electors; and
(b)shown in the record kept under paragraph 3 as voting by proxy at such elections,
and that the proxy is capable of being, and willing to be, appointed at such elections.
(7) Where the elector applies to the registration officer for the appointment of a proxy to vote for him at a particular European Parliamentary election, the registration officer must make the appointment if the application meets the requirements of Part 2 and he is satisfied that the elector is or will be registered in the register of electors and entitled to vote by proxy at that election by virtue of an application under paragraph 4(2) or 4(4) and that the proxy is capable of being, and willing to be, appointed.
(8) The appointment of a proxy under this paragraph is to be made by means of a proxy paper in Form N in the Appendix issued by the registration officer.
(9) The appointment may be cancelled by the elector by giving notice to the registration officer and shall also cease to be in force—
(a)where the appointment related to a particular European Parliamentary election or elections, on the issue of a proxy paper appointing a different person to vote for him at a European Parliamentary election or elections (whether in the same electoral region or elsewhere); or
(b)where the appointment was for a particular period, once that period expires.
(10) Subject to sub-paragraph (9), the appointment remains in force—
(a)in the case of an appointment for a particular election, for that election; and
(b)in any other case, while the elector is shown as voting by proxy in the record kept under paragraph 3 in pursuance of the same application under that paragraph.
7.—(1) A person entitled to vote as proxy at a European Parliamentary election may do so in person at his allotted polling station unless he is entitled to vote by post as proxy for the elector at the election, in which case he may vote by post.
(2) Where a person is entitled to vote by post as proxy for the elector at any election, the elector may not apply for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person at the election.
(3) For the purposes of these Regulations, the 1983 Act, the 2002 Act and the 2003 Act, a person entitled to vote as proxy for another at a European Parliamentary election is entitled so to vote by post if he is included in the list kept under sub-paragraph (8) in respect of the election.
(4) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post—
(a)as proxy at European Parliamentary elections (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application); or
(b)as proxy at a particular European Parliamentary election,
the registration officer must grant the application if the conditions set out in sub-paragraph (5) are satisfied.
(5) Those conditions are—
(a)that the registration officer is satisfied that the elector is or will be registered in the register of electors;
(b)that there is in force an appointment of the applicant as the elector’s proxy to vote for him at European Parliamentary elections, or, as the case may be, the election concerned; and
(c)that the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements of Part 2.
(6) The registration officer must keep a record of those whose applications under sub-paragraph (4)(a) have been granted showing —
(a)whether their applications were to vote by post or by proxy for an indefinite or particular period (specifying that period); and
(b)the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent.
(7) Where, in the case of a particular European Parliamentary election, a person included in the record kept under sub-paragraph (6) applies to the registration officer for his ballot paper to be sent to a different address from that shown in the record, the registration officer must grant the application if it meets the requirements of Part 2.
(8) The registration officer must, in respect of each European Parliamentary election, keep a special list (“the proxy postal voters list”) of—
(a)those who are for the time being included in the record kept under sub-paragraph (6), together with the addresses provided by them in their applications under sub-paragraph (4)(a) or, as the case may be, sub-paragraph (7) as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent; and
(b)those whose applications under sub-paragraph (4)(b) have been granted in respect of the election concerned, together with the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent,
and, forthwith on completion of the compilation of that list, supply to the local returning officer for any local counting area wholly or partly within the area for which he acts so much of that list as relates to any such area.
(9) In the case of a person who has an anonymous entry in a register, the list mentioned in sub-paragraph (8) must contain only—
(a)the person’s electoral number, and
(b)the period for which the anonymous entry has effect.
(10) The registration officer must remove a person from the record kept under sub-paragraph (6)—
(a)if he applies to the registration officer to be removed;
(b)if the elector ceases to be registered in the register of electors;
(c)if the appointment of the person concerned as the elector’s proxy ceases to be in force (whether or not he is re-appointed); or
(d)in the case of a person who applied to vote by post as proxy for a particular period, once that period expires.
(11) Sub-paragraph (2) does not prevent a person, at the polling station allotted to him, marking a tendered ballot paper in pursuance of rule 44(4) or (6) of the European Parliamentary elections rules.
(12) The registration officer may dispense with the requirement under sub-paragraph (5)(c) for the applicant to provide a signature if he is satisfied that the applicant is unable—
(a)to provide a signature because of any disability the applicant has;
(b)to provide a signature because the applicant is unable to read or write; or
(c)to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any such disability or inability.
(13) The registration officer must also keep a record in relation to those whose applications under sub-paragraph (4)(a) or (b) have been granted showing—
(a)their dates of birth;
(b)except in cases where the registration officer in pursuance of sub-paragraph (12) has dispensed with the requirement to provide a signature, their signatures.
(14) The record kept under sub-paragraph (13) must be retained by the registration officer for the period calculated by reference to paragraph 18(1).
8.—(1) A person who remains on the record kept under paragraph 3(4) or 7(6) may, at any time, provide the registration officer with a fresh signature.
(2) Anything required or authorised to be done for the purposes of any enactment in relation to a signature required to be provided in pursuance of this Schedule must be done in relation to a signature provided as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) instead of in relation to a signature provided on any earlier occasion.
9.—(1) The registration officer must either—
(a)provide the local returning officer for an election with a copy of the information contained in records kept by the registration officer in pursuance of paragraph 3(9), 4(7) and 7(13) in relation to electors at the election; or
(b)give the local returning officer access to such information.
(2) Information contained in records kept by a registration officer in pursuance of paragraphs 3(9), 4(7) and 7(13) may be disclosed by him to—
(a)any other registration officer if he thinks that to do so will assist the other registration officer in the performance of his duties; and
(b)any person exercising functions in relation to the preparation or conduct of legal proceedings under these Regulations.
10. A person who—
(a)in any declaration or form used for any of the purposes of this Schedule, makes a statement which he knows to be false; or
(b)attests an application under paragraph 3 or 4 when he knows that he is not authorised to do so or that it contains a statement which is false,
is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
11.—(1) A person commits an offence if he—
(a)engages in an act specified in sub-paragraph (2) at a European Parliamentary election; and
(b)intends, by doing so, to deprive another of an opportunity to vote or to make for himself or another a gain of a vote to which he or the other is not otherwise entitled or a gain of money or property.
(2) These are the acts—
(a)applying for a postal or proxy vote as some other person (whether that other person is living or dead or is a fictitious person);
(b)otherwise making a false statement in, or in connection with, an application for a postal or proxy vote;
(c)inducing the registration officer or local returning officer to send a postal ballot paper or any communication relating to a postal or proxy vote to an address which has not been agreed to by the person entitled to the vote;
(d)causing a communication relating to a postal or proxy vote or containing a postal ballot paper not to be delivered to the intended recipient.
(3) In sub-paragraph (1)(b) property includes any description of property.
(4) In sub-paragraph (2) a reference to a postal vote or a postal ballot paper includes a reference to a proxy postal vote or a proxy postal ballot paper (as the case may be).
(5) A person who commits an offence under sub-paragraph (1) or who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of such an offence is guilty of a corrupt practice.]