The Greater London Authority Elections (Amendment) Rules 2016

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Rules)

These Rules amend the Greater London Authority Elections Rules 2007 (S.I. 2007/3541) (“2007 Rules”) which make provision for the conduct of elections to the GLA and, in particular, include separate election rules for elections for London Assembly constituency and London members and for the Mayor of London.

Rule 3 makes three minor amendments to rule 11 of the 2007 Rules. Paragraphs (2) and (4) are correcting amendments. Paragraph (3) is necessary as a consequence of the substitution of a new form of postal voting statement.

Rule 4 inserts a new rule 12 in the 2007 Rules. At an Authority election the constituency returning officer, who is responsible for sending out the postal votes, might not also be the electoral registration officer for the whole of the constituency. New rule 12 requires each registration officer in that constituency to send to the returning officer the absent voters lists and proxy postal voters lists that the registration officer is required to keep for his or her registration area. These must be sent as soon as practicable after 5pm on the sixth day before the date of the poll. The registration officer must also provide the lists to the returning officer on request.

Rule 5 amends all the sets of rules so that references to a constable in the rules relating to notification of secrecy and admission to the polling station are read to include references to a police community support officer. This brings the rules for Authority elections into line with the rules for other elections in England and Wales.

Rule 6 amends the election timetables for all authority elections and, where applicable, by-elections. The deadlines for delivery of nomination papers and withdrawal of candidature are now the same. The former being put back from noon to 4pm on the 24th day before the date of the poll and the latter being brought forward from noon on the 21st day before the date of the poll to 4pm on the 24th day before the date of the poll.

Rule 6(4) and (10) substitute rule 13 in the Constituency Members Election Rules. This is necessary because the deadline for withdrawal of candidature has been brought forward. A candidate who is validly nominated in more than one constituency must withdraw from all but one, otherwise he or she will be deemed to have withdrawn from all. The Greater London Returning Officer will still be required to consider all the constituencies’ copies of statements as to persons nominated, and where a candidate is shown as having been validly nominated in more than one constituency inform the relevant constituency returning officers of that fact (and that the candidate is therefore deemed to have withdrawn his or her candidature).

Rule 7 amends the rules relating to consent to nomination and the relevant form. The reference to section 79 of the Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22), which has been repealed so far as it applies in England, is replaced with references to section 78A of that Act and section 34 of the Localism Act 2011 (c. 20).

Rule 8 amends the rules relating to ballot papers to permit returning officers to depart from the directions for printing the ballot papers if adaptations to the ballot papers have made been made for the purposes of electronic counting.

Rule 9 amends the rules relating to voting procedure and return of postal votes such that a voter who is in, or in a queue outside, the polling station for the purpose of voting at the close of the poll is still permitted to apply for a ballot paper. Similarly a postal vote returned by a person who is in, or in a queue outside, the polling station for the purpose of returning a postal ballot paper at the close of the poll is treated as having been returned before the close of the poll. This brings the conduct of Authority elections into line with that at other elections in England and Wales.

Rule 10 substitutes and inserts a number of new forms. The forms have been updated and are substituted or inserted so as to be consistent with those now used at parliamentary and other local elections.

An impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen.