I12Amendment of Northern Ireland legislation
1
In the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 (c. 14 (N.I.))—
a
in section 111, in subsection (2A), after paragraph (c) insert—
ca
in the case of an offence under paragraph 26A of Schedule 9, on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to both;
b
in Part 3 of Schedule 9, after paragraph 26 insert—
26A
1
A person who—
a
is with another person at a polling booth, and
b
intends to influence that other person to vote in a particular way or to refrain from voting,
commits an offence.
2
A person who—
a
is near a polling booth when another person is at that booth, and
b
intends to influence that other person to vote in a particular way or to refrain from voting,
commits an offence.
3
For the purposes of this paragraph—
a
a “polling booth” is a compartment in a polling station in which voters can mark votes screened from observation;
b
assisting a person with voting, in accordance with rule 36 of Schedule 5 or any other legislation, is not influencing that person to vote in a particular way or to refrain from voting;
c
a person may be near one polling booth while at a different polling booth.
2
In Schedule 1 to the Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2599), in the table, before the entry for section 63 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 insert—
Section 62C (influencing voters at polling booths)