Paragraph 30

After paragraph 4 (personation) insert—

“Offences relating to applications for postal and proxy votes at a local election

4A.

(1)

A person (“P”) is guilty of a corrupt practice if P—

(a)

engages in an act specified in sub-paragraph (2) at a local election, and

(b)

intends, by doing so, to deprive another of an opportunity to vote or to make for P or another a gain of a vote to which P or the other is not otherwise entitled or a gain of money or property.

(2)

These are the acts—

(a)

applying for a postal or proxy vote as some other person (whether that other person is living or dead or is a fictitious person);

(b)

otherwise making a false statement in, or in connection with, an application for a postal or proxy vote;

(c)

inducing the registration officer or returning officer to send a postal ballot paper or any communication relating to a postal or proxy vote to an address which has not been agreed to by the person entitled to the vote;

(d)

causing a communication relating to a postal or proxy vote or containing a postal ballot paper not to be delivered to the intended recipient.

(3)

In sub-paragraph (1)(b), property includes any description of property.

(4)

In sub-paragraph (2) a reference to a postal vote or a postal ballot paper includes a reference to a proxy postal vote or a proxy postal ballot paper (as the case may be).

(5)

For the purposes of this paragraph—

“postal ballot paper” means a ballot paper issued to a postal voter;

“postal voter” means a person entitled to vote by post at an election as an absent voter or as a proxy; and

“proxy postal ballot paper” means a ballot paper issued to a proxy postal voter.”.