Article 5 Amendment of the Scottish Local Government Elections Order 2007

After rule 59 (retention of documents) insert—

“PART IVA

Publication of Voting Information

59A.

(1)

In a contested election where the count is conducted by means of an electronic counting system, the returning officer must (except as provided for by paragraph (4)) give public notice of the information specified in paragraph (2) (“the information”), within one week following the declaration of the result of the poll.

(2)

The information is, for each polling station (except as provided for by paragraph (3))—

(a)

the number of first and subsequent preference votes for each candidate;

(b)

the numbers of ballot papers transferred and their transfer values at each stage of the count;

(c)

the number of votes credited to each candidate at each stage of the count;

(d)

the number of non-transferable ballot papers at each stage of the count; and

(e)

the number of rejected ballot papers under each head shown in the statement of rejected ballot papers.

(3)

Where in total less than 200 votes were cast at a polling station the returning officer is to give public notice of the information for that polling station aggregated with (and indistinguishable from) that information from one or more other polling stations in the same ward, being such polling stations as the returning officer sees fit, such that as aggregated the information will include in total no less than 200 votes.

(4)

Where in total less than 200 votes were cast at all polling stations in a ward, no public notice of the information is to be given.

(5)

Once public notice of the information has been given, the returning officer must as soon as reasonably practicable procure the destruction of any electronic data or other records retained under rule 56(3) pursuant to this rule, in a manner which ensures that their confidentiality is preserved.

59B.

(1)

Rule 59A shall apply in respect of the elections held on 3rd May 2007 with the following modifications.

(2)

In paragraph (1) for “is” substitute “was”, and from “within” substitute “no later than two months after the commencement of this rule”.

(3)

For paragraph (5) substitute—

“(5)

For the purposes of paragraph (1), the returning officer may require the production of any information held on an electronic copy of information made pursuant to rule 56(1), but in scrutinising that information shall take care to ensure that the way in which a particular elector has given his or her vote is not ascertained and at the termination of that scrutiny shall reseal in their packets the electronic copies of that information, return them to the proper officer and cause to be destroyed any other copies made of that information.

(6)

Should it not be possible to comply with the requirements of paragraph (1), the returning officer shall give public notice of that fact.

(7)

For the purposes of this rule, anything in rule 58(8)(a) that restricts inspection of an electronic copy of information shall be of no effect.”.”.