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(1) This Order may be cited as the Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and shall come into operation on the seventh day after the day on which it is made.
(2) This Order extends to Northern Ireland only.
(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
(2) In this Order “ the Act of 1962 ” means the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 .
(3) In this Order expressions have the same meaning as in the Act of 1962.
(1) The provisions of the Northern Ireland (Local Elections) Order 1977 , except Article 3 of, and Schedule 1 to, that Order shall cease to have effect on the coming into operation of this Order and that Order shall be revoked on 15th May 1985.
(2) The Northern Ireland (Variation of Limits of Candidates' Election Expenses) Order 1981 is hereby revoked.
For the local elections rules set out in Schedule 5 to the Act of 1962 there shall be substituted the rules set out in Schedule 1.
At a local election there shall be a separate election for each district electoral area and each such area shall return such number of councillors as is provided by the Order in Council under section 38(1)(a) of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 constituting the area in question.
(1) A local elector may vote in person at the polling station allotted to him under the local elections rules in Schedule 5 to the Act of 1962 (as substituted by Schedule 1) unless he is entitled as an elector to an absent vote at the election.
(2) He may vote by post if he is entitled as an elector to vote by post at the election.
(3) If he is entitled to vote by proxy at the election, he may so vote unless, before a ballot paper has been issued for him to vote by proxy, he applies at the polling station allotted to him for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person, in which case he may vote in person there.
(4) The provisions of Parts I and II of Schedule 2 shall have effect as respects the entitlement to vote by post or to vote by proxy at a local election and as respects the appointment of proxies and voting by post or by proxy.
(5) Accordingly, at the end of section 67 of the Act of 1962 (voting by proxy) , there shall be added the following subsection—
(5) This section and Schedule 7 shall not apply at a local election.
(6) A local elector shall not be entitled to vote in person as an elector where he has applied to be treated as an absent voter and is entitled in pursuance of the application to vote by post.
(7) If a local elector is not entitled as an elector to vote by post or by proxy at the election but is unable or likely to be unable to go to the polling station allotted to him by reason of the particular circumstances of his duties on the date of the poll either—
(a) as a constable,
(b) as a member of Her Majesty's forces (including Her Majesty's reserve or auxiliary forces) in connection with the election, or
(c) by reason of his employment by the returning officer in connection with the election,
he may vote in person as elector at any polling station in the district electoral area.
(8) The proceedings in connection with the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers at a local election shall be conducted in accordance with Part III of Schedule 2.
(1) In section 11 of the Act of 1962 (election and term of office of members of district councils) , after subsection (1) there shall be inserted:
(1A) The election day referred to in subsection (1) is the third Wednesday in May.
(2) In section 130(1) of the Act of 1962 (interpretation), after the definition of “election court” there shall be inserted:
“ election day ” has the meaning given in section 11(1) and (1A);
(1) In section 23(7) of the Act of 1962 (returning officer at local election to submit account of expenses to local authority within three months of the declaration of the result of the election), for the words “three months” there shall be substituted the words “six months”.
(2) At the end of section 24(1) of the Act of 1962 (time during which claims must be made against the returning officer), there shall be added the words “In the case of a local election, this subsection shall have effect as if, for the period of twenty-one days referred to above, there were substituted a period of forty-two days”.
In section 42(1) of the Act of 1962 (limit on candidates' election expenses at an election) , for the words from “current register” to the end there shall be substituted the words "current register, and for a candidate at a local election is £135 together with an additional 2.8p for every entry in the register of electors to be used at the election (as first published)".
In subsection (1) of section 52 of the Act of 1962 (inspection of returns and declarations) , after the words “5p” and after the words “1p” there shall be inserted the words “in the case of a return or declaration relating to a parliamentary election,” and at the end of the subsection there shall be inserted the following:—
Where the return or declaration relates to a local election, the fee for inspection shall be £1 and the price of copies shall be 10p for each side of each page.
In subsection (1) of section 53 of the Act of 1962 (right to send election address post free), after the word “parliamentary” there shall be inserted the words “or local”.
(1) In section 60 of the Act of 1962 (candidates' deposit), in subsection (1) after the word “election” there shall be inserted the words “(other than a local election)”; and in subsection (3), paragraph (b) shall cease to have effect.
(2) In section 61 of the Act of 1962 (return or disposal of deposit)—
(a) in subsection (1) the words “or Local Elections Rules as the case may be”,
(b) in subsection (3), paragraph (b),
(c) in subsection (5), paragraph (b), and
(d) in subsection (8), paragraph (c),
shall cease to have effect.
Section 110 of the Act of 1962 (compensation where charge of personation is unjustly made or not prosecuted) shall not apply at a local election and accordingly in subsection ( 1) of that section the words “or Rule 37 of the Local Elections Rules” shall be omitted.
(1) The following amendments shall be made to Schedule 9 to the Act of 1962 (electoral offences).
(2) In sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 5 (offences as to proxy voting) after the word “parliamentary” there shall be inserted the words “or local”.
(3) In paragraph 10(1) (offences in connection with legal incapacity to vote):—
(a) at the end of paragraph (a), there shall be added the words “or votes by post at a local election”, and
(b) in paragraph (b), after the word “parliamentary” there shall be inserted the words “or local”.
(4) In paragraph I I(b) (voting in person where entitled to vote by post) after the word “parliamentary” there shall be inserted the words “or local”.
(5) In paragraph 12(1)(b) (voting as proxy for person subject to legal incapacity), after the word “votes” there shall be inserted the words “(at a local election, whether in person or by post)”.
(6) After paragraph 12 (proxy offences) there shall be inserted the following paragraph:—
(12A)
(1) For the purposes of the offences in sub-paragraphs (c) and (d) of paragraph 11 (voting offences as elector at local elections) and sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph 12(2) (voting offence as proxy at local elections) a person who has applied for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person, or who has marked, whether validly or not, and returned a ballot paper issued for the purpose of voting by post, shall be deemed to have voted.
(2) Where a person is alleged to have committed an offence under the provisions referred to in sub-paragraph (1) by voting on a second or subsequent occasion, he shall not be deemed by virtue of that sub-paragraph to have voted by applying on a previous occasion for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person unless he then marked a tendered ballot paper under rule 37(4) of the local elections rules.
(1) A person commits an offence if, on the day of or the day next preceding the poll at a local election, he has possession of a document to which this Article applies, with the intention of committing or of enabling another person to commit the offence of personation at the election.
(2) This Article applies to—
(a) a document which is not, but purports to be, a specified document within the meaning of rule 34 of the local elections rules in Schedule 5 to the Act of 1962 (as substituted by Schedule 1), and
(b) a specified document within the meaning of that rule which either falsely bears the name of the person in possession or does not bear that name.
(3) If a constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person has possession of a document in contravention of paragraph (1), the constable may—
(a) search that person, and detain him for the purpose of searching him;
(b) search any vehicle in which the constable suspects that the document may be found, and for that purpose require the person in control of the vehicle to stop it;
(c) seize and retain, for the purpose of proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1), any document found in the course of the search if there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that it is a document to which this Article applies.
(4) If a resident magistrate is satisfied by complaint on oath that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person has possession on any premises of a document in contravention of paragraph (1), he may grant a warrant authorising any constable—
(a) to enter, if need be by force, the premises named in the warrant,
(b) to search the premises and any person found there, and
(c) to seize and retain, for the purpose of proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1), any document found in the course of the search if there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that it is a document to which this Article applies.
(5) A person commits an offence if he—
(a) intentionally obstructs a constable in the exercise of his powers under this Article, or
(b) conceals from a constable acting in the exercise of those powers any document to which this Article applies.
(6) A constable may arrest without warrant a person who has committed, or whom the constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting to have committed, an offence under paragraph (1) or (5) if—
(a) he has reasonable grounds for believing that that person will abscond unless arrested,
(b) the name and address of that person are unknown to, and cannot be ascertained by, him, or
(c) he is not satisfied that a name and address furnished by that person as his name and address are true.
(7) A person is guilty of a corrupt practice if he commits or aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of an offence under paragraph (1); and the provisions of the Act of 1962 relating to corrupt practices shall apply in such a case, but reading for the words “one year” in section 108(2) (penalty on indictment) the words “two years”.
(8) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (5) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (as provided by Article 5 of the Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 ) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.
(9) A prosecution shall not be instituted in respect of an offence under paragraph (1) except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.
(10) In this Article—
“ premises ” includes any place and, in particular, includes any movable structure, and
“ vehicle ” means a vehicle intended or adapted for use on land (however propelled, and including a caravan or other vehicle intended or adapted to be drawn).
(1) The following amendments in consequence of the provisions of this Order shall be made to the Act of 1962.
(2) In section 11(3) (effect of death of candidate) for the words from the beginning to “adjourned” there shall be substituted the words "If the poll at an election in any district electoral area is countermanded or abandoned by reason of a candidate's death".
(3) In section 14A(2) (discharge of functions of Chief Electoral Officer) for the words “Rule 22 of Schedule 5” there shall be substituted the words “rule 23 of the local elections rules”.
(4) In section 29(8) (power to refuse to issue a ballot paper) for the words “Rules 31, 35 and 37 of the Local Elections Rules” there shall be substituted the words “rule 32 and paragraphs (2) to (7) of rule 34 (including those paragraphs as applied by rules 35, 36 and 37) of the local elections rules”.
(5) In section 42(3) (limitation on election expenses), after the words “of expenses” there shall be inserted “(a) at a parliamentary election” and at the end there shall be inserted the following:—
and
(b) at a local election shall, for each of two or more joint candidates, be reduced by one-fourth or, if there are more than two joint candidates, by one-third.
(6) In section 72(3)(c) (persons not qualified to act at election court for trial of petition relating to local election) for the word “ward” there shall be substituted the words “district electoral area”.
(7) In section 130(1) (interpretation)—
(a) in the definition of “current register” for the words after “constituency” to the end of the definition there shall be substituted the words “or district electoral area for which the election is being held”;
(b) in the definition of “election” for the words from “local election means” to the end of the definition there shall be substituted the words “local election means an election in a district electoral area”; and
(c) in the definition of “local election” for the words from “an election” to “for a” there shall be substituted the words “an election in a district electoral area for a”.
(8) In Schedule 10—
(a) in Forms 2, 3 and 4 for the words “ward of district” there shall be substituted the words “district electoral area”, and
(b) in Form 5 after the word “constituency” there shall be inserted the words "or ... district electoral area".
In section 1(1)(a) of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 (district councils) , for sub-paragraphs (i) and (ia) there shall be substituted:
(i) elected by the local electors (within the meaning of section 130(1) of the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962) in each district electoral area in the district in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Law Acts (Northern Ireland) 1962 to 1971 and the provisions of the Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 1985;
Provided that nothing in this Article shall affect the tenure of office of any member of a district council elected before election day in 1985.
(1) The following amendments in consequence of the provisions of this Order shall be made to the Electoral Law (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 .
(2) Article 3(2) and Schedule 1 (timetable for local elections and computation of time) shall cease to have effect.
(3) Article 8(2) (description of candidate in nomination paper and on ballot paper) shall cease to have effect.
(4) Article 10 (deposits by candidates at local elections) shall cease to have effect.
(5) In Article 11 (period for delivery of nomination papers) the words “and local” shall be omitted.
(6) In Article 14 (hours of polling) the words “or local” and the words from “and in paragraph (3)” to the end shall be omitted.
(1) The proceedings at an election shall be conducted in accordance with whichever of the timetables in paragraph (2) or (3) applies for that election.
(2) The proceedings at an election in a local election year (within the meaning of section 11(1)), not being an election to fill a casual vacancy, shall be conducted in accordance with the following timetable:—
TIMETABLE
(3) The proceedings at an election to fill a casual vacancy shall be conducted in accordance with the following timetable:—
TIMETABLE
In computing any period of time for the purpose of the appropriate Timetable a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday shall be disregarded, and any such day shall not be treated as a day for the purpose of any proceedings up to the completion of the poll nor shall the returning officer be obliged to proceed with the counting of the votes on such a day.
In these rules “ returning officer ” means the Chief Electoral Officer provided that, in respect of any function which that Officer has delegated to a deputy returning officer (within the meaning of Article 9(2) of the Electoral Law (Northern Ireland) Order 1972), it means the deputy returning officer acting under the supervision of the Chief Electoral Officer.
The returning officer shall publish notice of the election stating in addition to the notification referred to in section 24(2)—
(a) the place and times at which nomination papers are to be delivered;
(b) the number of members to be returned for each district electoral area in the local government district concerned;
(c) the last time by which applications to vote by post or proxy or by post as proxy must reach the Chief Electoral Officer in order to be effective for the election;
(d) the date and hours of the poll in the event of a contest;
and the notice shall state that forms of nomination paper may be obtained at the place referred to in paragraph (a).
(1) Each candidate shall be nominated by a separate nomination paper, in the form in the Appendix, delivered—
(a) by the candidate himself, or
(b) by his proposer or seconder,
to the returning officer at the place fixed for the purpose, but the paper may be so delivered on the candidate's behalf by his election agent if the agent's name and address have been previously given to the returning officer as required by section 34 or are so given at the time the paper is delivered.
(2) The nomination paper shall state the candidate's—
(a) full names,
(b) home address in full, and
(c) if desired, description,
and the surname shall be placed first in the list of his names.
(3) The description, if any, shall not exceed 6 words in length, and need not refer to his rank, profession or calling so long as, with the candidate's other particulars, it is sufficient to identify him.
(1) The nomination paper shall be subscribed by two electors for the district electoral area as proposer and seconder, and by eight other electors for that area as assenting to the nomination.
(2) Where a nomination paper bears the signature of more than the required number of persons as proposing, seconding or assenting to the nomination of a candidate, the signature or signatures (up to the required number) appearing first on the paper in each category shall be taken into account to the exclusion of any others in that category.
(3) The nomination paper shall give the electoral number of each person subscribing it.
(4) The returning officer shall—
(a) supply any elector with a form of nomination paper at the place and during the time for delivery of nomination papers, and
(b) at any elector's request prepare a nomination paper for signature;
but it is not necessary for a nomination to be on a form supplied by the returning officer.
(5) A person shall not subscribe more nomination papers at the same election than there are vacancies to be filled in the district electoral area; but a person shall not be prevented from subscribing a nomination paper by reason only of his having subscribed that of a candidate who has died or withdrawn before delivery of the first-mentioned paper.
(6) If a person subscribes nomination papers in contravention of paragraph (5), his signature shall be inoperative on any paper other than those papers (up to the permitted number) which are delivered first.
(7) In this rule—
“ elector ” means a person—
who is registered as a local government elector in the district electoral area in the register to be used at the election,
who, pending the publication of that register, appears from the electors lists for that register as corrected by the Chief Electoral Officer to be entitled to be so registered,
and accordingly includes one shown in the register or electors lists as below voting age if it appears from it that he will be of voting age on the day fixed for the poll but not otherwise;
“ electoral number ” means a person's number in that register (including the distinguishing number of the polling district), or, pending publication of the register, his number (if any) in the electors lists for that register.
A person shall not be validly nominated unless his consent to nomination is—
(a) given in writing in the form in the Appendix, on or within one month before the day fixed as the last day for the delivery of nomination papers,
(b) attested by one witness, and
(c) delivered at the place and within the time for the delivery of nomination papers.
The returning officer shall fix the place at which nomination papers are to be delivered to him, and shall attend there during the time for their delivery and for the making of objections to them.
(1) Except for the purpose of delivering a nomination paper or of assisting the returning officer no person is entitled to attend the proceedings during the time for delivery of nomination papers or for making objections to them unless he is—
(a) a person standing nominated as a candidate, or
(b) the election agent, proposer or seconder of such a person, but where a candidate acts as his own election agent he may name one other person who shall be entitled to attend in place of his election agent.
(2) Where a person stands nominated by more than one nomination paper, only the persons subscribing as proposer and seconder—
(a) to such one of those papers as he may select, or
(b) in default of such a selection, to that one of those papers which is first delivered,
shall be entitled to attend as his proposer and seconder.
(3) The right to attend conferred by this rule includes the right—
(a) to inspect, and
(b) to object to the validity of,
any nomination paper.
(1) Where a nomination paper and the candidate's consent to it are delivered in accordance with these rules, the candidate shall be deemed to stand nominated unless and until—
(a) the returning officer decides that the nomination paper is invalid; or
(b) proof is given to the returning officer's satisfaction of the candidate's death; or
(c) the candidate withdraws.
(2) The returning officer is entitled to hold a nomination paper invalid only on one of the following grounds—
(a) that the particulars of the candidate or the persons subscribing the paper are not as required by law;
(b) that the paper is not subscribed as so required.
(3) The returning officer shall give his decision on any objection to a nomination paper as soon as practicable after it is made.
(4) Where he decides that a nomination paper is invalid, he shall endorse and sign on the paper the fact and the reasons for his decision.
(5) The decision of the returning officer that a nomination paper is valid shall be final and shall not be questioned in any proceedings whatsoever.
(6) Subject to paragraph (5), nothing in this rule shall prevent the validity of a nomination being questioned on an election petition.
(1) A candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice of withdrawal—
(a) signed by him and attested by one witness, and
(b) delivered to the returning officer at the place for delivery of nomination papers.
(2) Where a candidate is out of Northern Ireland, a notice of withdrawal signed by his proposer and accompanied by a written declaration also so signed of the candidate's absence from Northern Ireland shall be of the same effect as a notice of withdrawal signed by the candidate, but where the candidate stands nominated by more than one nomination paper a notice of withdrawal under this paragraph shall be effective if, but only if—
(a) it and the accompanying declaration are signed by all the proposers except anyone who is, and is stated in that declaration to be, out of Northern Ireland; or
(b) it is accompanied, in addition to the declaration, by a written statement signed by the candidate that the proposer giving notice is authorised to do so on the candidate's behalf during his absence from Northern Ireland.
(1) The returning officer shall prepare and publish a statement showing the persons who have been and stand nominated in each district electoral area and any other persons who have been nominated, with the reason why they no longer stand nominated.
(2) The statement shall show the names, addresses and descriptions of the persons nominated as given in their nomination papers, together with the names of the persons subscribing those papers.
(3) The statement shall show the persons standing nominated arranged alphabetically in the order of their surnames, and, if there are two or more of them with the same surname, of their other names.
(4) In the case of a person nominated by more than one nomination paper, the returning officer shall take the particulars required by the foregoing provisions of this rule from such one of the papers as the candidate (or the returning officer in default of the candidate) may select.
(1) Where the proceedings for or in connection with nomination are on any day interrupted or obstructed by riot or open violence—
(a) the proceedings shall be abandoned for that day, and
(b) if that day is the last day for the delivery of nomination papers, the proceedings shall be continued on the next day as if that were the last day of such delivery;
and that day shall be treated for the purposes of these rules as being the last day for such delivery (subject to any further application of this rule in the event of interruption or obstruction on that day).
(2) Where proceedings are abandoned by virtue of this rule—
(a) nothing may be done after they are continued if the time for doing it had passed at the time of the abandonment; and
(b) anything done before the abandonment shall not be invalidated by reason of the abandonment.
(1) If the number of persons standing nominated, as shown by the statement of persons nominated, exceeds the number of seats to be filled, a poll shall be taken in accordance with Part III of these rules.
(2) If the number of persons standing nominated, as so shown, is equal to or less than the number of seats to be filled, the persons standing nominated shall be declared to be elected in accordance with Part V of these rules.
The votes at the poll shall be given by ballot, the votes given to each candidate shall be counted and the result shall be determined in accordance with Part IV of these rules.
(1) The ballot of every voter shall consist of a ballot paper, and the persons shown in the statement of persons nominated as standing nominated, and no others, shall be entitled to have their names inserted in the ballot paper.
(2) Every ballot paper shall be in the form in the Appendix, and shall be printed in accordance with the directions in that Appendix, and—
(a) shall contain the names and other particulars of the candidates as shown in the statement of persons nominated;
(b) shall be capable of being folded up;
(c) shall have a number printed on the back;
(d) shall have attached a counterfoil with the same number printed on the face.
(3) The order of the names in the ballot paper shall be the same as in the statement of persons nominated.
(1) Every ballot paper shall be marked with an official mark, which shall perforate or emboss the ballot paper.
(2) The official mark shall be kept secret, and an interval of not less than seven years shall intervene between the use of the same official mark at elections for the same district electoral area.
(3) The official mark used for ballot papers issued for the purpose of voting by post shall not be used at the same election for ballot papers issued for the purpose of voting in person.
No person who has voted at the election shall, in any legal proceeding to question the election, be required to state for whom he voted.
(1) The returning officer may use, free of charge, for the purpose of taking the poll or conducting the count—
(a) school premises to which this rule applies;
(b) a room the expense of maintaining which is payable out of any rate.
(2) This rule applies to a school which is in receipt of a grant out of moneys appropriated by Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
(3) The returning officer shall make good any damage done to, and defray any expense incurred by the persons having control over, any such premises or room as mentioned above by reason of its being used for the purpose of taking the poll or conducting the count.
(4) The use of a room in an unoccupied house for that purpose does not render a person liable to be rated or to pay any rate for the house.
(1) The returning officer shall in the statement of persons nominated include a notice of the poll, stating the day on which and the hours during which the poll will be taken.
(2) The returning officer shall also give public notice (which may be combined with the statement of persons nominated) of—
(a) the situation of each polling station;
(b) the description of voters entitled to vote there;
(c) the mode in which voters are to vote; and
(d) the number of councillors to be elected for each district electoral area.
(1) The returning officer shall as soon as practicable send to those entitled to vote by post, at the addresses provided by them for the purpose, a ballot paper and a declaration of identity in the form prescribed in the Appendix, together with an envelope for their return.
(2) The declaration of identity shall be witnessed by another elector who personally knows the voter.
(1) The returning officer shall provide a sufficient number of polling stations and shall allot the electors to the polling stations in such manner as he thinks most convenient.
(2) One or more polling stations may be provided in the same room.
(3) The polling station allotted to electors from any polling district shall be in the polling place for that district.
(4) The returning officer shall provide each polling station with such number of compartments as may be necessary in which the voters can mark their votes screened from observation.
(1) The returning officer shall appoint and pay a presiding officer to attend at each polling station and such clerks as may be necessary for the purposes of the election, but he shall not appoint any person who has been employed by or on behalf of a candidate in or about the election.
(2) The returning officer may, if he thinks fit, preside at a polling station and the provisions of these rules relating to a presiding officer shall apply to a returning officer so presiding with the necessary modifications as to things to be done by the returning officer to the presiding officer or by the presiding officer to the returning officer.
(3) A presiding officer may do, by the clerks appointed to assist him, any act (including the asking of questions) which he is required or authorised by these rules to do at a polling station except order the arrest, exclusion or removal of any person from the polling station or refuse to deliver a ballot paper under paragraph ( 4) of rule 34 (including that paragraph as applied by rule 35, 36 or 37).
(1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall as soon as practicable after the eleventh day ( computed like any period of time in the Timetable) before the day of the poll prepare a list (in these rules referred to as “ the list of proxies ”) giving—
(a) the names and numbers on the register of electors for whom proxies have been appointed (omitting any of those electors who are registered as service electors and who are entitled to vote by post at that election); and
(b) the names and addresses of the persons appointed.
(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall as soon as practicable after the eleventh day (computed like any period of time in the Timetable) before the day of the poll prepare a list of those persons (including proxies) whose applications to vote by post he has allowed under the provisions of Part I of Schedule 2 to the Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, together with the addresses provided by them as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent.
(3) The list of proxies and the list of persons (including proxies) entitled to vote by post are together referred to in these rules as the absent voters list.
(1) The returning officer shall as soon as practicable send to electors and their proxies an official poll card, but a card need not be sent to any person—
(a) as an elector if he is placed on the absent voters list for the election; or
(b) as a proxy if his application to vote as such by post is allowed for the election.
(2) An elector's official poll card shall be sent or delivered to his qualifying address, and a proxy's to his address as shown in the list of proxies.
(3) The official poll card shall be in the form prescribed in the Appendix and shall set out—
(a) the name of the district electoral area;
(b) the elector's name, qualifying address and number on the register;
(c) the date and hours of the poll and the situation of the elector's polling station.
(4) Paragraph (7) of rule 6 applies for the interpretation of this rule.
(1) The returning officer shall provide each presiding officer with such number of ballot boxes and ballot papers as in the returning officer's opinion may be necessary.
(2) Every ballot box shall be so constructed that the ballot papers can be put in it, but cannot be withdrawn from it, without the box being unlocked.
(3) The returning officer shall provide each polling station with—
(a) materials to enable voters to mark the ballot papers;
(b) instruments for stamping on them the official mark;
(c) copies of the register of electors or such part of it as contains the names of the electors allotted to the station;
(d) the parts of the absent voters lists prepared for the election corresponding to the register of electors or the part of it provided under sub-paragraph (c).
(4) A notice in the form in the Appendix giving directions for the guidance of the voters in voting, shall be printed in conspicuous characters and exhibited outside every polling station and in every compartment of every polling station.
(1) Each candidate may, before the commencement of the poll, appoint—
(a) polling agents to attend at polling stations for the purpose of detecting personation; and
(b) one counting agent to attend at the counting of the votes.
(2) Notice in writing of the appointment, stating the names and addresses of the persons appointed, shall be given by the candidate to the returning officer and shall be so given not later than 5 p.m. on the second day ( computed like any period of time in the Timetable) before the day of the poll.
(3) If an agent dies, or becomes incapable of acting, the candidate may appoint another agent in his place, and shall forthwith give to the returning officer notice in writing of the name and address of the agent appointed.
(4) The foregoing provisions of this rule shall be without prejudice to the requirements of subsection (1) of section 38 as to the appointment of paid polling agents, and any appointment authorised by this rule may be made and the notice of appointment given to the returning officer by the candidate's election agent, instead of by the candidate.
(5) In the following provisions of these rules references to polling and counting agents shall be taken as references to agents—
(a) whose appointments have been duly made and notified; and
(b) where the number of agents is restricted, who are within the permitted number.
(6) Any notice required to be given to a counting agent by the returning officer may be delivered at or sent by post to the address stated in the notice of appointment.
(7) A candidate may himself do any act or thing which any polling or counting agent of his, if appointed, would have been authorised to do, or may assist his agent in doing any such act or thing.
(8) A candidate's election agent may do or assist in doing anything which a polling or counting agent of his is authorised to do; and anything required or authorised by these rules to be done in the presence of the polling or counting agents may be done in the presence of a candidate's election agent instead of his polling agent or counting agent.
(9) Where by these rules any act or thing is required or authorised to be done in the presence of the polling or counting agents, the non-attendance of any agents or agent at the time and place appointed for the purpose shall not, if the act or thing is otherwise duly done, invalidate the act or thing done.
(1) Before the opening of the poll a declaration of secrecy in the form in paragraph (5) shall be made by—
(a) the returning officer and the presiding officers;
(b) every clerk authorised to attend at a polling station or the counting of the votes;
(c) every candidate attending at a polling station or at the counting of the votes and every election agent so attending;
(d) every polling agent and counting agent;
(e) every person permitted by the returning officer to attend the counting of the votes, though not entitled to do so.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing paragraph, the following persons attending at the counting of the votes—
(a) any candidate,
(b) any election agent,
(c) any person permitted by the returning officer to attend, though not entitled to do so,
(d) any clerk making the declaration in order to attend the counting of the votes,
need not make the declaration before the opening of the poll but shall make it before he or she is permitted to attend the counting, and a polling or counting agent appointed after the opening of the poll shall make the declaration before acting as such an agent.
(3) The returning officer shall make the declaration in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, any deputy returning officer shall make the declaration in the presence of a Justice of the Peace or the returning officer, and any other person shall make the declaration in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, the returning officer or a deputy returning officer.
(4) Sub-paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of paragraph 27 of Schedule 9 and subsections (1) and (2) of section 111 shall be read to the declarant by the person taking the declaration or shall be read by the declarant in the presence of that person.
(5) The declaration shall be as follows:—
I solemnly promise and declare I will not do anything forbidden by sub-paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of paragraph 27 of Schedule 9 to the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962, which have been read to [by] me.
(1) The presiding officer shall regulate the number of voters to be admitted to the polling station at the same time, and shall exclude all other persons except—
(a) the candidates and their election agents;
(b) the polling agents appointed to attend at the polling station;
(c) the clerks appointed to attend at the polling station;
(d) the constables on duty;
(e) members of Her Majesty's forces on duty in connection with the election, and
(f) the companions of blind voters.
(2) Not more than one polling agent shall be admitted at the same time to a polling station on behalf of the same candidate.
(3) A constable, a member of Her Majesty's forces (including Her Majesty's reserve or auxiliary forces) or a person employed by a returning officer shall not be admitted to vote in person elsewhere than at the polling station allotted to him, except on production and surrender of a certificate as to his employment, which shall be in the form in the Appendix and shall be signed—
(a) in the case of a constable, by an officer of the Royal Ulster Constabulary not below the rank of chief inspector;
(b) in the case of a member of Her Majesty's forces (including Her Majesty's reserve or auxiliary forces), by an officer not below the rank of major; and
(c) in the case of a person employed by the returning officer, by that officer.
(4) Any certificate surrendered under this rule shall forthwith be cancelled.
(1) It is the presiding officer's duty to keep order at his polling station.
(2) If a person misconducts himself in a polling station, or fails to obey the presiding officer's lawful orders, he may immediately, by the presiding officer's order, be removed from the polling station—
(a) by a constable in or near that station, or
(b) by any other person authorised in writing by the returning officer to remove him,
and the person so removed shall not, without the presiding officer's permission, again enter the polling station during the day.
(3) Any person so removed may, if charged with the commission in the polling station of an offence, be dealt with as a person taken into custody by a constable for an offence without a warrant.
(4) The powers conferred by this rule shall not be exercised so as to prevent a voter who is otherwise entitled to vote at a polling station from having an opportunity of voting at that station.
Immediately before the commencement of the poll, the presiding officer shall show the ballot box empty to such persons, if any, as are present in the polling station, so that they may see that it is empty, and shall then lock it up and place his seal on it in such a manner as to prevent its being opened without breaking the seal, and shall place it in his view for the receipt of ballot papers, and keep it so locked and sealed.
(1) The presiding officer may, and if required by a candidate or his election or polling agent shall, put to any person applying for a ballot paper at the time of his application, but not afterwards, the following questions, or either of them—
(a) in the case of a person applying as an elector—
(i) "Are you the person registered in the register of electors for this election as follows (read the whole entry from the register)?"
(ii) "Have you already voted on your own behalf either here or elsewhere in this or any other district electoral area at this election?"
(b) in the case of a person applying as proxy—
(i) "Are you the person whose name appears as A.B. in the list of proxies for this election as entitled to vote as proxy on behalf of C.D.?"
(ii) "Have you already voted as proxy on behalf of C.D. either here or elsewhere in this or any other district electoral area at this election?"
(2) In the case of a person applying as proxy, the presiding officer may, and if required as mentioned above shall, put the following additional question:—
Are you the husband [wife], parent, grandparent, brother [sister], child or grandchild of C.D.?
and if that question is not answered in the affirmative the following question:—
Have you at this election already voted in this district electoral area on behalf of two persons of whom you are not the husband [wife], parent, grandparent, brother [sister], child or grandchild?
(3) A ballot paper shall not be delivered to any person required to answer the above questions or any of them unless he has answered the questions or question satisfactorily.
(4) Save as by this rule authorised, no inquiry shall be permitted as to the right of any person to vote.
The Local Elections (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 (legislation.gov.uk, OGL v3.0). Retrieved via LawPlayer, https://lawplayer.com/uk/act/uksi-1985-454
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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