The Voter Identification Regulations 2022

New regulation 71A (grounds relating to identification: England and Wales and Scotland) E+W+S

90.  After regulation 71 insert—

“Grounds relating to identification: England and Wales and Scotland

71A.— (1) For the purposes of this Part, an application is made on grounds relating to identification if it is made because the following apply to B—

(a) condition 1, 2 or 3, and

(b) except where B has an anonymous entry in the register, condition 4.

(2) In this regulation, “B” means—

(a) the applicant, where—

(i) the application is made under regulation 53(2), and

(ii) regulation 63A(2) does not apply to the application made under regulation 57(7) which is included in that application under regulation 53(2);

(b) otherwise, the person already appointed as the applicant’s proxy at the time the application is made.

(3) Condition 1 is that—

(a) immediately before the deadline, B has a specified document which B intends to use to sign the petition in person, and

(b) after that deadline, that document is—

(i) lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged so as to be no longer usable as a specified document for the purposes of that petition, or

(ii) sent by B to another person to prove B’s identity, and B considers it is unlikely to be returned to B on or before the last day of the signing period at that petition.

(4) Condition 2 is that—

(a) at a time during the period of 3 months ending with the deadline, B has applied for a specified document,

(b) immediately before the deadline, B has not received that document, and

(c) the application for the specified document has not been refused or withdrawn.

(5) Condition 3 is that—

(a) B has an anonymous entry in the register, and

(b) either—

(i) B has not been issued with an anonymous elector’s document, or

(ii) B has been issued with an anonymous elector’s document, and after the deadline B is allocated an electoral number which is different from the one shown on that document other than as a result of an application under section 9B of the 1983 Act (anonymous registration).

(6) Condition 4 is that B does not have access to another specified document.

(7) In this regulation—

(a) the “deadline” means 5pm on the sixth day before the last day of the signing period at the petition to which the application relates;

(b) “specified document” has the meaning given in regulation 27(1I).”.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 90 in force at 16.1.2023, see reg. 1(3)