The Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) Regulations 2012

[F1 Retrieval of cancelled postal ballot papers E+W

38.— (1) Where it appears to the counting officer that a cancelled postal ballot paper has been placed—

(a) in a postal voters’ ballot box;

(b) in the receptacle for ballot paper envelopes; or

(c) a postal ballot box,

the counting officer must proceed as follows.

(2) The counting officer must, on at least one occasion on which a postal voters’ ballot box is opened in accordance with rule 31, also open any postal ballot box and the receptacle for ballot paper envelopes and—

(a) retrieve the cancelled ballot paper;

(b) show the ballot paper number on the cancelled ballot paper to the polling observers;

(c) retrieve the postal voting statement that relates to a cancelled ballot paper from the receptacle for postal voting statements [F2 after verification procedure];

(d) attach any cancelled postal ballot paper to the postal voting statement to which it relates;

(e) place the cancelled documents in a separate packet and deal with that packet in the manner provided for by rule 25(6); and

(f) unless the postal ballot box has been opened for the purposes of the counting of votes, re-lock (if it has a lock) and re-seal the postal ballot box in the presence of the counting observers.

(3) Whilst retrieving a cancelled ballot paper in accordance with paragraph (2), 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

F2 Words in Sch. 7 rule 38(2)(c) inserted (6.4.2014) by The Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/333), regs. 1(6), 26 (with reg. 1(7))