{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-european-union-referendum-conduct-regulations-2016/regulation-20",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-european-union-referendum-conduct-regulations-2016/regulation-20.json",
  "legislation": "ukdsi/2016/9780111142967",
  "legislation_title": "The European Union Referendum (Conduct) Regulations 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-european-union-referendum-conduct-regulations-2016",
  "path": "regulation/20",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "20",
  "heading": "Issue of official poll cards",
  "text": "(1) The counting officer must, as soon as practicable after the publication of notice of the referendum, send to electors and their proxies an official poll card.\nThis paragraph is subject to paragraph (2).\n(2) An official poll card must not be sent to a person registered, or to be registered, in pursuance of—\n(a) an overseas elector’s declaration, within the meaning of section 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (registration of British citizens overseas), or\n(b) a declaration made by virtue of subsection (5) of section 3 of that Act (extension of franchise for European Parliamentary Elections).\n(3) An elector’s official poll card must be sent or delivered to his or her qualifying address.\n(4) A proxy’s official poll card must be sent or delivered to the address which—\n(a) is shown as the proxy’s address in the list of proxies, or\n(b) in the case of a proxy for an elector with an anonymous entry in a register maintained by the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland, would be so shown but for regulation 74(4).\n(5) In the case of an elector who is entitled to vote in the referendum in England and Wales or Scotland—\n(a) an official poll card sent to the elector must be in the form set out in Form 5 in Schedule 4;\n(b) an official postal poll card sent to the elector must be in the form set out in Form 6 in Schedule 4;\n(c) an official poll card sent to the proxy of the elector must be in the form set out in Form 7 in Schedule 4;\n(d) an official postal poll card sent to the proxy of the elector must be in the form set out in Form 8 in Schedule 4.\n(6) In the case of an elector who is entitled to vote in the referendum in Northern Ireland—\n(a) an official poll card sent to the elector must be in the form set out in Form 9 in Schedule 4;\n(b) an official postal poll card sent to the elector must be in the form set out in Form 10 in Schedule 4;\n(c) an official poll card sent to the proxy of the elector must be in the form set out in Form 11 in Schedule 4;\n(d) an official postal poll card sent to the proxy of the elector must be in the form set out in Form 12 in Schedule 4.\n(7) An official poll card or official postal poll card may set out whatever information, in addition to that required by virtue of paragraph (5) or (6), the counting officer thinks appropriate.\n(8) Different information may be provided in pursuance of paragraph (7) to different electors or descriptions of elector.\n(9) In this regulation—\n“qualifying address” means the address in respect of which a person is entitled to be registered on the register of electors;\n“elector” includes only those electors who, on the last day for publication of notice of the referendum, appear on a register to be used for the referendum.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "1985 c.50. Section 2 was substituted by paragraphs 1 and 3 of Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (c.2) and was amended by section 12(9) of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c.22) and by paragraph 21 of Schedule 4 to the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c.6)."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "Section 3 was substituted by paragraphs 1 and 4 of Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (c.2)."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111142967/regulation/20",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T15:08:43.057571+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}