The Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) Regulations 2012

[F1 Postal voting statements: additional personal identifier verification E+W

36.— (1) A counting officer may on any occasion at which a postal voters’ ballot box is opened in accordance with rule 31 undertake verification of the personal identifiers on any postal voting statement that has on a prior occasion been placed in the receptacle for postal voting statements.

(2) Where a counting officer undertakes additional verification of personal identifiers, the counting officer must—

(a) remove as many postal voting statements from the receptacle for postal voting statements as the counting officer wishes to subject to additional verification; and

(b) compare the date of birth and the signature on each such postal voting statement against the date of birth and signature contained in the identifier record relating to the person to whom the postal ballot paper was addressed.

(3) Where the counting officer is no longer satisfied that the postal voting statement has been duly completed the counting officer must mark the statement “rejected” and before placing the postal voting statement in the receptacle for rejected votes after verification procedure, the counting officer must—

(a) show it to the counting observers and must permit them to view the entries in the identifier record which relate to the person to whom the postal ballot paper was addressed, and if any of them object to the counting officer’s decision, must add the words “rejection objected to”;

(b) open any postal ballot box and retrieve the ballot paper corresponding to the ballot paper number on the postal voting statement;

(c) show the ballot paper number on the retrieved ballot paper to the counting observers; and

(d) attach the ballot paper to the postal voting statement.

(4) Following the removal of a postal ballot paper from a postal ballot box the counting officer must lock and reseal the postal ballot box in the presence of the counting observers.

(5) Whilst retrieving a ballot paper in accordance with paragraph (4), the counting officer and the counting officer’s staff—

(a) must keep the ballot papers face downwards and must take proper precautions for preventing any person seeing the votes made on the ballot papers, and

(b) must not be permitted to view the corresponding number list used at the issue of postal ballot papers.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 7 inserted (6.4.2013) by The Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/798), regs. 1, 7, Sch. 2