{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/local-elections-principal-areas-amendment-england-and-wales-rules-2004/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/local-elections-principal-areas-amendment-england-and-wales-rules-2004/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2004/223",
  "legislation_title": "The Local Elections (Principal Areas) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Rules 2004",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/local-elections-principal-areas-amendment-england-and-wales-rules-2004",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Rules)\nThese Rules, which extend to England and Wales, amend the Local Elections (Principal Areas) Rules 1986, (the Principal Rules) as they apply where the poll at a principal area election is taken together with the poll at one or more of a number of other types of election or referendum.\nRule 2 inserts a replacement for rule 6 of the Principal Rules.\nA new schedule is substituted for Schedule 3 to the Principal Rules.\nThe new Schedule 3 applies in place of both the former Schedules 3 and 4 to the Principal Rules and contains a modified version of the Rules in Schedule 2, which apply where the poll is to be combined with the poll at—\na Parliamentary election;\na European Parliamentary election;\nanother local government election (which includes Greater London Authority elections in London);\na referendum; or\nan election for an elected mayor.\nThe main changes are—\nextending the period within which nominations must be delivered where the poll is combined with the poll at a European parliamentary election,\npermitting use of the same ballot box in the case of all possible combined polls,\nallowing for the translation of notices for the guidance of voters into languages other than English,\nentitling representatives of the Electoral Commission to attend the polling stations, verification and count,\nallowing those who are entitled to attend the count at the poll which is combined to attend at the joint verification of ballot paper accounts,\nrequiring that postal ballot papers which are returned to a polling station are returned to a polling station located in the area which is common to the electoral areas (or electoral area and voting area in the case of a combination with a referendum) in which each poll is taking place, and\nensuring that forms which are or may be used for all polls, such as notices in polling stations and declarations by disabled voters are in a form which is consistent with those applying under the legislation governing the election with which the principal area election is combined.\nA full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument, as it has no impact on the costs of businesses, charities or voluntary bodies.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/223/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T05:34:51.724292+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."
}