The Representation of the People and Recall Petition (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2023

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make various changes to the rules governing Parliamentary elections, recall petitions and Assembly elections in Northern Ireland. Many of the changes are required as a result of changes to electoral law made by the Elections Act 2022 (the “2022 Act”).

Part 2 makes amendments to the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/1741) (the “2008 Regulations”).

Regulation 3 inserts into the 2008 Regulations two new regulations about applications for electoral identity cards in Northern Ireland: new regulation 13A requires the Chief Electoral Officer in Northern Ireland (the “CEO”) to notify the applicant of the result of their application for a voter identity card; and new regulation 13B provides a right of appeal against a refusal of an electoral identity card.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 46B of the 2008 Regulations, which gives the CEO the power to retain a person’s entry on the electoral register even if the person’s form in response to the canvass was not returned or not completely filled in. In relation to the canvass conducted in 2021 a person’s entry may now be retained for three years (as opposed to the usual two).

Regulation 6 amends regulation 56 of the 2008 Regulations, which sets out the information required on an application for the appointment of a proxy. The first amendment requires a proxy application to include the proxy’s date of birth. The second removes the requirement for the application to provide details of the family relationship between the proxy and the person appointing them. This is required as a result of changes to the rules governing the number of persons for whom a proxy can act (see Schedule 4 to the 2022 Act).

Regulations 7 and 8 amend regulations 55A and 62 of the 2008 Regulations to provide that where a person (including a proxy) applies for a postal vote and requests that their ballot papers are sent to an address which is different from the “normal address” held by the CEO, the CEO must send to that normal address a confirmation that the ballot papers will be sent to the requested address, or the notification that the application has been refused.

Regulation 9 inserts a new Part 6A, which is about the disclosure of date of birth lists to the police (new regulation 114B) and in response to a court order (new regulation 114C). These two new regulations include restrictions on further disclosure, breach of which is a criminal offence under section 66B of the Representation of the People Act 1983.

Regulation 10 and Schedules 2, 3 and 4 make changes to the forms used in Parliamentary elections in Northern Ireland to reflect the changes made by the 2022 Act to the rules on the number of persons for whom a proxy may act and to the acceptable forms of voter identification. Regulation 11 is a transitional provision which requires a proxy paper form for a proxy appointment made before 5^th March 2024 to reflect the fact that the new rules on proxy appointments do not yet apply.

Part 3 makes amendments to the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/295) (the “Recall Regulations”) as they apply in Northern Ireland.

Regulation 13 extends certain amendments previously made to the Recall Regulations to Northern Ireland, primarily so that they can be operated on by these Regulations.

Regulation 14 inserts into the Recall Regulations five new regulations relating to date of birth lists. New regulation 13A imposes an obligation on the CEO to prepare date of birth lists for electors and proxies (mirroring new paragraph 19B inserted into the rules for Parliamentary elections set out in Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983 (the “Parliamentary Elections Rules”) by paragraph 11 of Schedule 1 to the 2022 Act). New regulations 13B and 45A contain provision about the disclosure of date of birth lists to the police and in response to a court order (mirroring the new regulations 114B and 114C inserted into the 2008 Regulations by Part 2), and new regulation 124A makes it a criminal offence for a person to breach the restrictions in those regulations. New regulation 46A makes provision for the destruction of date of birth lists (mirroring equivalent provision inserted into the Parliamentary Elections Rules by the 2022 Act).

Regulations 15 to 22 make various other changes to the Recall Regulations relating to voter identification. These follow changes made to the Parliamentary Elections Rules by the 2022 Act and changes already made to the Recall Regulations in England and Wales and Scotland by the Voter Identification Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/1382).

Part 4 amends the Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2599) to apply some of the changes made by Part 1 to Assembly Elections.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private or voluntary sector or community bodies is foreseen.