5ZAHandling of postal voting documents by political campaigners

1

A person who is a political campaigner in respect of a local election is guilty of a corrupt practice if the person handles a postal voting document that has been issued to another person for use in that election.

2

But a person who handles a postal voting document for use in a local election is not guilty of a corrupt practice if—

a

the person is responsible for, or assists with, the conduct of that election (for example as a returning officer or a person working under the direction of a returning officer),

b

the person is engaged in the business of a postal operator, or

c

the person is employed or engaged in a role the duties of which include the handling of postal packets on behalf of members of an organisation or the occupants of a communal building,

and the handling is consistent with the person’s duties in that capacity.

3

Nor is a person guilty of a corrupt practice if the person—

a

is the other person’s spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild, or

b

provides regular care for, or is employed or engaged by an organisation which provides care for, the other person.

4

It is a defence for a person charged with the corrupt practice to show that the person did not dishonestly handle the postal voting document for the purpose of promoting a particular outcome at a local election.

5

Where sufficient evidence is adduced to raise an issue with respect to the defence under sub-paragraph (4), the court must assume that the defence is satisfied unless the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that it is not.

6

For the purposes of this paragraph a person is a political campaigner in respect of a local election if any of the following paragraphs applies—

a

the person is a candidate at the election;

b

the person is an election agent of a candidate at the election;

c

the person is employed or engaged by a person who is a candidate at the election for the purposes of that person’s activities as a candidate;

d

the person is a member of a registered political party and carries on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election;

e

the person is employed or engaged by a registered political party in connection with the party’s political activities;

f

the person is employed or engaged by a person within any of paragraphs (a) to (e) to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election;

g

the person is employed or engaged by a person within paragraph (f) to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election.

7

In this paragraph—

• “postal operator” has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the Postal Services Act 2011 (see section 27(3) to (5) of that Act);

• “postal voting document” means a postal ballot paper, declaration of identity or envelope that has been issued to a person by the returning officer for the purpose of enabling the person to vote by post at a local election;

• “registered political party” means a party registered under Part 2 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

8

For the purposes of this paragraph, an envelope—

a

that is not a postal voting document, but

b

that contains a postal ballot paper or declaration of identity that has been issued to a person for the purpose of enabling the person to vote by post at a local election,

is to be treated as if it were a postal voting document that has been issued to the person for use in the election.

9

In this paragraph, any reference to a person who is “engaged” by another person, or to a person who provides care for another person, includes a reference to a person who is engaged or provides care otherwise than for payment or promise of payment.

10

For the purposes of sub-paragraph (3)(a), two people living together as if spouses of each other are treated as if they were spouses or civil partners of each other.