Paragraph 31 Issue of official poll cardsI1

England and Wales

(1)

The returning officer must, as soon as practicable after publishing notice of the election, send or deliver—

(a)

an official poll card to electors not voting by post,

(b)

an official postal poll card to electors voting by post and not by proxy,

(c)

an official proxy poll card to a person voting as proxy for an elector and not by post, and

(d)

an official proxy postal poll card to a person voting as proxy for an elector by post.

(2)

An official poll card or an official postal poll card must be sent or delivered to the elector’s qualifying address.

(3)

An official proxy poll card or an official proxy postal poll card must be sent or delivered to the proxy’s address, as shown in the list of proxies.

(4)

Each poll card must be in the appropriate form in F1the applicable Appendix or a form to the like effect and must set out—

(a)

the name of the council to which councillors are to be elected,

(b)

the electoral ward for which councillors are to be elected,

(c)

the number of councillors to be elected for that electoral ward,

(d)

the elector’s name, qualifying address and number on the register,

(e)

the date and hours of the poll and the situation of the elector’s polling station, and

(f)

such other information as the returning officer considers appropriate.

(5)

Different information may be provided under paragraph (4)(f) to different electors or descriptions of elector.

(6)

In the case of an elector with an anonymous entry, the poll card—

(a)

must contain such information as is specified in F2the applicable Appendix instead of the information set out in paragraph (4)(d), and

(b)

must be sent or delivered in an envelope or other form of covering so as not to disclose that the elector has an anonymous entry.

(7)

If the returning officer and the returning officer for each relevant election consider it appropriate, a poll card issued under this rule may be combined with a poll card of the same type issued at each relevant election.

(8)

In this rule—

F3(aa)

“the applicable Appendix” means—

(i)

where the voting system that applies at the election is the simple majority system, Appendix 5;

(ii)

where the voting system that applies at the election is the single transferable vote system, Appendix 5A.

(a)

“elector” means a person who is registered in the register of local government electors for the electoral ward in question on the last day for the publication of notice of the election, except that it includes a person then shown in the register (or, in the case of a person with an anonymous entry in the register, in the record of anonymous entries) as below voting age only if it appears from the register (or the record of anonymous entries) that the person will be of voting age on the day fixed for the poll;

(b)

“qualifying address” has the same meaning as in the 1983 Act (see section 202(1) of that Act).

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Words in Sch. 2 rule 31(4) substituted (9.10.2023) by The Local Elections (Principal Areas) (Single Transferable Vote) (Wales) Rules 2023 (S.I. 2023/1064), rules 1(2), 7(5)(a)
F2: Words in Sch. 2 rule 31(6)(a) substituted (9.10.2023) by The Local Elections (Principal Areas) (Single Transferable Vote) (Wales) Rules 2023 (S.I. 2023/1064), rules 1(2), 7(5)(b)
F3: Sch. 2 rule 31(8)(aa) inserted (9.10.2023) by The Local Elections (Principal Areas) (Single Transferable Vote) (Wales) Rules 2023 (S.I. 2023/1064), rules 1(2), 7(5)(c)

Commencement

I1: Sch. 2 rule 31 in force at 17.12.2021, see rule 1

Notes on Schedule 2

Modifications

C1: Sch. 2 applied (with modifications) (18.7.2025) by The Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/864), art. 1(2), Sch. 3 paras. 22, 25 (with art. 1(4))