The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2003

Article 14(2)

SCHEDULE 2 Absent Voting At Assembly Elections

1. 1. General requirements for applications.

2. 2. Additional requirements for applications on grounds of physical incapacity.

3. 3. Additional requirements for applications based on occupation, service or employment.

4. 4. Additional requirements for application to vote by proxy in respect of a particular Assembly election.

5. 5. Additional requirements for applications for appointment of a proxy.

6. 6. Closing dates for applications.

7. 7. Grant or refusal of applications.

8. 8. Notice of appeal.

9. 9. Cancellation of proxy appointment.

10. 10. Inquiries by registration officer.

11. 11. Records and lists to be kept under articles 8,10 and 12.

12. 12. Marked register for polling stations.

13. 13. Certificate of employment at an Assembly election.

14. 14. Notification by registration officer.

15. 15. Transitional provision for absent voters.

16. APPENDIX OF FORMS

    1. Form of proxy paper.

    2. Form of certificate of employment.

General requirements for applications

1.—(1) Applications under article 8, 9, 11 or 12 shall, in addition to the address which is required by article 8(8), 9(4) or 12(10) (as the case may be), state—

(a) the applicant’s full name,

(b) except in the case of an application under article 12, the address in respect of which the applicant is or will be registered in the register,

(c) in the case of an application under article 12, the address of the applicant, together with the name of the elector for whom he acts as proxy and the address of that elector for the purposes of paragraph (b), and

(d) in the case of an application to vote by proxy, the grounds on which the applicant claims to be entitled to an absent vote;

and the application shall be signed by the applicant and made and sent or delivered in accordance with article 143.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), the address in respect of which the applicant is or will be registered includes—

(a) in the case of a service voter, the address given in the service declaration in accordance with section 16(d) of the 1983 Act,

(b) in the case of a person to whom section 7 of the 1983 Act applies (mental patients who are not detained offenders), the address of the mental hospital or the address shown on the declaration of local connection in accordance with section 7B(3)(d) of the 1983 Act,

(c) in the case of a person to whom section 7A of the 1983 Act applies (person remanded in custody), the address of the place at which he is detained or the address shown on the declaration of local connection in accordance with section 7B(3)(d) of the 1983 Act, and

(d) in the case of a homeless person, the address shown on the declaration of local connection in accordance with section 7B(3)(d) of the 1983 Act.

(3) An application under article 9(1) or (2), 11(7) or 12(7) shall specify the election in respect of which it is made.

(4) An application to vote by proxy under article 8(1) or (7) or 9(1) or (2) shall include an application for the appointment of a proxy which meets the requirements of paragraph 5.

(5) An application under article 8, 9, 11 or 12 shall comply with such further requirements of this Schedule as apply to such an application and with the requirements as to time set out by paragraph 6.

Additional requirements for applications on grounds of physical incapacity

2.—(1) An application to vote by proxy for a particular or indefinite period under article 8(2)(b) shall specify the physical incapacity by reason of which the application is made.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraphs (3) to (5), such an application shall be attested and signed by—

(a) a registered medical practitioner,

(b) a registered nurse within the meaning of section 7(7) of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1997(1),

(c) a Christian Science practitioner,

(d) in the case of an application in which the applicant states that he is resident in a residential care home within the meaning of section 1 of the Registered Homes Act 1984(2) which is required to be registered under Part I of the Act, the person registered under that Act as carrying on that home,

(e) in the case of an application in which the applicant states that he is resident in residential accommodation provided by a local authority under section 21(1) of the National Assistance Act 1948(3), the matron or other person in charge of that accommodation, or

(f) in the case of an application in which the applicant states that he resides in premises forming one of a group of premises—

(i) which are provided for persons of pensionable age or physically disabled persons, and

(ii) for which there is a resident warden,

that warden.

(3) But a person may not attest an application under article 8(2)(b) by virtue of sub-paragraph (2)(a), (b) or (c) unless he is treating the applicant for the physical incapacity specified in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) or the applicant is receiving care from him in respect of that incapacity.

(4) The person attesting an application under sub-paragraph (2) shall state—

(a) his name and address and the qualification by virtue of which he is authorised to attest the application and, where the person attests the application by virtue sub-paragraph (2)(a), (b) or (c), that he is treating the applicant for the physical incapacity specified in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) or the applicant is receiving care from him in respect of that incapacity,

(b) that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, the applicant is suffering from the physical incapacity specified in the application and that he cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to his allotted polling station or to vote unaided there by reason of that incapacity, and

(c) that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, the physical incapacity specified in the application is likely to continue either indefinitely or for a period specified by the person attesting the application.

(5) Sub-paragraphs (2) and (4) shall not apply where—

(a) the application is based on the applicant’s blindness and the applicant is registered as a blind person by a local authority, which is specified in the application, under section 29(4)(g) of the National Assistance Act 1948(4), or

(b) the application states that the applicant is (under section 73 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(5)) in receipt of the higher rate of the mobility component of a disability living allowance (payable under section 71 of that Act) because of the physical incapacity specified in the application in pursuance of sub-paragraph (1).

(6) The fact that an applicant is registered with a local authority under section 29(4)(g) of the National Assistance Act 1948 shall be deemed sufficient evidence that he is eligible for an absent vote on the grounds set out in article 8(2)(b).

(7) In this paragraph and paragraphs 3 and 4, “his allotted polling station”, in relation to an elector, means the polling station allotted or likely to be allotted to him under this Order.

Additional requirements for applications based on occupation, service or employment

3.—(1) An application to vote by proxy for a particular or indefinite period under article 8(2)(c) shall state—

(a) whether the occupation, service or employment, in respect of which it is made, is that of the applicant or his spouse or, as the case may be, whether it is the applicant or his spouse who is attending the course provided by an educational institution in respect of which the application is made,

(b) the nature of the occupation, service, employment or course provided by an educational institution giving rise to the application,

(c) where the person in respect of whose occupation, service or employment it is made (in this paragraph referred to as “the employed person”) is self-employed, that fact; and, in any other case, the name of that person’s employer, and

(d) the reason relevant to the general nature of the occupation, service or employment in question or the course provided by an educational institution, why the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to his allotted polling station.

(2) Such an application shall be attested and signed—

(a) where the employed person is self-employed, by a person who—

(i) is aged 18 years or over,

(ii) knows the employed person, and

(iii) is not related to him,

or

(b) by the employer of the employed person or by another employee to whom this function is designated by the employer, and

(c) in the case of a course provided by an educational institution, by the director or tutor of that course or by the principal or head of that institution or an employee to whom this function is delegated by the principal or head.

(3) For the purpose of sub-paragraphs (2)(a) and (4)(i), one person is related to another if he is the husband, wife, parent, grand-parent, brother, sister, child or grandchild of the other.

(4) The person attesting an application under sub-paragraph (2) shall—

(a) where the applicant is the employed person or the person attending the course, certify that the statements included in the application in accordance with the requirements of sub-paragraph (1)(a) to (d) are true, or

(b) where the applicant is the spouse of the employed person or the person attending the course, certify that the statements included in the application in accordance with the requirements of sub-paragraph (1)(a) to (c) are true,

and, in addition, he shall state—

(i) in the case of a person who attests an application under sub-paragraph (2)(a), his name and address, and that he is aged 18 years or over, knows the employed person, but is not related to him, or

(ii) in the case of a person who attests an application under sub-paragraph (2)(b), either that he is the employer of the employed person or the position he holds in the employment of that employer, or

(iii) in the case of a person who attests under sub-paragraph (2)(c), the post he holds at the institution.

Additional requirements for applications to vote by proxy in respect of a particular Assembly election

4.  An application under article 9(1) to vote by proxy at a particular election shall set out why the applicant’s circumstances on the date of the poll for that election in respect of which it is made will be or are likely to be such that he cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at his allotted polling station.

Additional requirements for applications for appointment of a proxy

5.  An application for the appointment of a proxy under article 11(6) or (7) shall state the full name and address of the person whom the applicant wishes to appoint as his proxy, together with his family relationship, if any, with the applicant, and—

(a) if it is signed only by the applicant, shall contain a statement by him that he has consulted the person so named and that that person is capable of being and willing to be appointed to vote as his proxy, or

(b) if it is also signed by the person to be appointed, shall contain a statement by that person that he is capable of being and willing to be appointed to vote as the applicant’s proxy.

Closing dates for applications

6.—(1) An application—

(a) to vote by post or proxy under article 8(1),

(b) to vote by post or proxy under article 9(1),

(c) for the appointment of a proxy under article 11(6) or 11(7), or

(d) from a proxy to vote by post under article 12(4),

shall be disregarded for the purposes of any particular Assembly election if it is received by the registration officer after 5 pm on the sixth day before the date of the poll at that election.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), an application—

(a) by an absent voter to alter his choice as to the manner of absent voting under article 8(6) or (7),

(b) by a postal voter for his ballot paper to be sent to a different address or to vote instead by proxy at a particular election under 9(2), or

(c) from a postal proxy for his ballot paper to be sent to a different address at a particular election under article 12(7),

shall be disregarded for the purposes of any particular Assembly election if it is received by the registration officer after 5 pm on the eleventh day before the date of the poll at that election.

(3) The following, namely—

(a) an application under article 8(5)(a) by an elector to be removed from the record kept under article 8(3),

(b) an application under article 12(9)(a) by a proxy to be removed from the record kept under article 12(6), and

(c) a notice under article 11(9) of the cancellation of a proxy’s appointment,

shall be disregarded for the purposes of any particular Assembly election if it is received by the registration officer after—

(i) 5 pm on the eleventh day before the date of the poll at that election in the case of an application by an elector who is entitled to vote by post to be removed from the record kept under article 8(4), and

(ii) 5 pm on the sixth day before the date of the poll at that election in any other case.

(4) In computing a period of days for the purposes of paragraph 5 and this paragraph—

(a) a Saturday or a Sunday,

(b) Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, or

(c) a day which is a bank holiday in Wales under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(6),

shall be disregarded.

Grant or refusal of applications

7.—(1) Where the registration officer grants an application under article 8, 9, 11 or 12 he shall, where practicable, notify the applicant of his decision.

(2) Where the registration officer grants an application for the appointment of a proxy, he shall, where practicable, confirm in writing to the elector that the proxy has been appointed, his name and address and the duration of the appointment.

(3) The proxy paper to be issued by the registration officer on the appointment of a proxy shall be in the form set out in English and Welsh in the Appendix (but this may be combined with another form of proxy paper if the registration officer is issuing a proxy paper appointing that person as proxy for the same elector in respect of another election or other elections).

(4) Where the registration officer disallows an application under article 8, 9, 11 or 12 he shall notify the applicant of his decision and, in the case of an application under article 8(1) or 12(4), of the reason for his decision; and he shall date such notification.

(5) Where under paragraph 6(1) or (4) the registration officer disregards an application for the purposes of any Assembly election, he shall, where practicable, notify the applicant of this.

(6) At an Assembly election where the registration officer is not the returning officer for any constituency or part of a constituency for which he is the registration officer, he shall send to that returning officer details of any application to vote by post which he has granted as soon as practicable after doing so.

Notice of appeal

8.—(1) A person desiring to appeal under article 5(1) against the decision of a registration officer must give notice of the appeal to the registration officer within 14 days of the receipt of the notice given under paragraph 7(4) specifying the grounds of the appeal.

(2) The registration officer shall forward any such notice to the county court in the manner directed by rules of court together in each case with a statement of the material facts which in his opinion have been established in the case, of his decision upon the whole case and on any point which may be specified as a ground of appeal.

(3) Where it appears to the registration officer that any notices of appeal given to him are based on similar grounds, he shall inform the county court of this to enable the court (if it thinks fit) to consolidate the appeals or select a case as a test case.

Cancellation of proxy appointment

9.  Where the appointment of a proxy is cancelled by notice given to the registration officer under article 11(9) or ceases to be in force under that provision or is no longer in force under article 11(10)(b), the registration officer shall—

(a) notify the person whose appointment as proxy has been cancelled or ceases to be or is no longer in force, unless the registration officer has previously been notified by that person that he no longer wishes to act as proxy, and

(b) remove his name from the record kept under article 8(4) and (5)(b).

Inquiries by registration officer

10.—(1) The registration officer may, at such times as he thinks fit, make inquiries of a person—

(a) who is shown in the record kept under article 8(4) by virtue of an application under that article on the grounds set out in article 8(2)(b) or (c),

(b) who is shown in that record by virtue of an application having been treated as granted under paragraph 15(1) but who immediately before the commencement date was shown in a record kept under section 6(3) of the 1985 Act by virtue—

(i) of an application under that section on the grounds set out in section 6(2)(b) or (c) of that Act, or

(ii) of paragraph 9(1)(a) of Schedule 2 to the 1985 Act on the grounds set out in section 32(1)(b)(i), (c) or (g) of the 1983 Act,

for the purpose of determining whether there has been a material change of circumstances.

(2) In the case of a person—

(a) who is shown in the record kept under article 8(4) by virtue of an application under that article on the grounds set out in article 8(2)(d),

(b) to whom sub-paragraph (1)(b)(i) applies and who immediately before the commencement date was shown in a record kept under section 6(3) of the 1985 Act by virtue of an application under that section on the grounds set out in section 6(2)(c) of that Act, or

(c) to whom sub-paragraph (1)(b)(ii) applies and who immediately before the commencement date was shown in a record kept under section 6(3) of the 1985 Act by virtue of paragraph 9(1)(a) of Schedule 2 to the 1985 Act on the grounds set out in section 32(1)(b)(i) or (g) of the 1983 Act,

the registration officer shall make the inquiries referred to in sub-paragraph (1) not later than three years after the date of the granting of the application or the last such inquiries, as the case may be.

(3) In respect of a person to whom sub-paragraph (2)(b) or (c) applies, the commencement date shall be treated as the date of the granting of the application.

(4) The registration officer may treat the failure by a person of whom inquiries have been made under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) to respond to such inquiries within one month of the date on which they were made as sufficient evidence of a material change in circumstances.

(5) In this paragraph “commencement date” means the date of commencement of this Order.

Records and lists kept under articles 8, 10 and 12

11.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph and article 139(a), the records kept under articles 8(4) and 12(6) and the lists kept under articles 10(1) and 12(8) shall be in such form as the registration officer thinks fit.

(2) In that part of the absent voters list referred to in article 10(1)(a), the address to which a ballot paper or, where a person is entitled to give two votes at an ordinary election, ballot papers shall be sent to a person who is entitled to vote by post as an elector shall be placed on the right hand side of his name and electoral number.

(3) In that part of the absent voters list referred to in article 10(1)(b) (the list of proxies), the name and address of the proxy shall be placed on the right hand side of the elector’s name and electoral number.

(4) In the list kept under article 12(8) (those proxies who are entitled to vote by post), the name of the proxy, together with the address to which his ballot paper or, where a person is entitled to give two votes at an ordinary election, ballot papers shall be sent, shall be placed on the right hand side of the elector’s name and electoral number.

(5) The registration officer shall make available for inspection at his office a copy of the records kept under articles 8(4) and 12(6).

(6) As soon as practicable after the day referred to in paragraph 6(1), the registration officer shall publish the lists kept under articles 10(1) and 12(8) by making a copy of them available for inspection at his office; and he shall continue to make a copy of those lists so available until the date of the poll.

(7) Subject to sub-paragraph (8), as soon as practicable after the publication of the lists referred to in sub-paragraph (6), the registration officer shall, on request, supply free of charge a copy of them to each—

(a) candidate or his election agent at a constituency election, or

(b) individual candidate or group of party list candidates, or his or their election agent, at a regional election.

(8) But if such a request is made before any issue of postal ballot papers, he shall before that issue supply a copy of those lists or so much of them as relates to that issue.

(9) In this paragraph, 'electoral number' means a person’s number in the register to be used at the election or, pending publication of the register, his number (if any) in the electors lists for that register.

Marked register for polling stations

12.  To indicate that an elector or his proxy is entitled to vote by post and is for that reason not entitled to vote in person, the letter ‘A’ shall be placed against the name of that elector in any copy of the register, or part of it, provided for a polling station.

Certificate of employment at an Assembly election

13.  The certificate as to the employment of constables and persons employed by a returning officer on the date of the poll at an Assembly election (to enable such a constable or person to vote elsewhere than at his own polling station) shall be in the form set out in English and Welsh in the Appendix and shall be signed, in the case of a constable, by an officer of a police force of or above the rank of inspector.

Notification by registration officer

14.  Where a registration officer is required by this Schedule to notify any person, such notification shall be in writing and may be sent by post—

(a) in the case of a person other than a service voter, to the address provided by that person for the purpose of such notification or of any record or, if there is no such address, to the last known place of abode of that person,

(b) in the case of a service voter, to any address provided by him for the purpose of such notification or of any record or to the address provided for the purpose by the appropriate government department (as defined by section 59(3) of the 1983 Act) or, as the case may be, the British Council.

Appendix of Forms

Paragraph 7(2)

Form of Proxy Paper

Paragraph 13

Form of certificate of employment

(1)

1997 c. 24.

(2)

1984 c. 23.

(3)

1948 c. 29.

(4)

1948 c. 29.

(5)

1992 c. 4.

(6)

1971 c. 80.