Explanatory note

Under section 6(2)(aa) of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (as inserted by the Representation of the People Act 1990), a person is eligible for an absent vote for an indefinite period at parliamentary and local government elections if he is no longer resident at his qualifying address or at any other address in the same area. Section 6(2A) of the 1985 Act (as so inserted) defines the meaning of the expression “the same area” for these purposes. Section 9(5) of that Act provides a similar definition of that expression for the purposes of a proxy’s right to vote by post under section 9(4)(b).

Paragraph (b) of sections 6(2A) and 9(5) refers to an electoral division of a county in the context of determining whether two addresses in a non-metropolitan county in England are in the same area. This assumes that every such county will have a county council. The effect of structural change orders under Part II of the Local Government Act 1992 (c. 19) is that that assumption is no longer accurate. These Regulations amend sections 6(2A) and 9(5) of the 1985 Act to make provision for non-metropolitan counties in England which do not have a county council.