Article 60 Right to send election address post free

At a Scottish parliamentary election–

is entitled to send, free of any charge for postage which would otherwise be made by a universal service provider, a postal communication containing only matter relating to the election and not exceeding 60 grams in weight.

One postal communication as described in paragraph (1) may be addressed to each elector–

or alternatively one unaddressed such communication may be sent to each place which, in accordance with such reasonable terms and conditions as the universal postal service provider may specify, constitutes a delivery point for the purposes of this article.

Any such candidate or, as the case may be, party’s nominating officer is also, subject as mentioned in paragraph (2), entitled to send free of any such charge for postage as mentioned above to each person entered in the list of proxies for the election one such communication as mentioned in paragraph (1) for each appointment in respect of which that person is so entered.

Any such candidate or, as the case may be, party’s nominating officer, may also require the appropriate returning officer to make arrangements with the universal service provider for addressed communications under paragraph (2) to be sent to persons who have anonymous entries in the register of electors, which arrangements shall be such as to ensure that it is not disclosed to any other person that the addressee of such a communication has an anonymous entry.

In relation to a candidate for return as a constituency member or to an individual candidate for return as a regional member, such a person shall not be deemed for the purposes of this article to be a candidate unless he is shown as standing nominated in the statement of persons nominated; but, until publication of that statement, any person who declares himself to be such a candidate shall be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this article if he gives such security as may be required by the universal service provider concerned for the payment of postage should he not be shown as standing nominated as mentioned above.

A registered party shall not be deemed to have submitted a regional list for the purposes of this article unless that party is shown as standing nominated in the statement published under rule 20 of the Scottish Parliamentary Election Rules but until the publication of that statement the nominating officer of a party which has submitted a regional list shall be entitled to exercise the right of free postage conferred by this article if he gives such security as may be required by the universal service provider should the party not be shown as standing nominated as mentioned above.

For the purposes of this article, “elector”–

In this article “universal service provider” has the same meaning as in the Postal Services Act 2000^f1.

If the area of a regional returning officer is situated in the area of more than one official designated by a universal postal service provider, the controlling designated official shall be determined by that regional returning officer.