Article 10 Voting as proxy at Senedd electionsI1

England and Wales

(1)

A person entitled to vote as proxy at a Senedd election may do so in person at the polling station allotted to the elector under this Order unless that person is entitled to vote by post as proxy for the elector at the election, in which case that person may vote by post.

(2)

Where a person is entitled to vote by post as proxy for the elector at any Senedd election, the elector may not apply for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person at the election.

(3)

For the purposes of this Order, a person entitled to vote as proxy for another at a Senedd election is entitled to vote by post if the person is included in the list kept under paragraph (8) in respect of the election.

(4)

Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post as proxy—

(a)

at Senedd elections, F1... or

(b)

at a particular Senedd election,

the registration officer must grant the application if the conditions set out in paragraph (5) are satisfied.

(5)

The conditions are that—

(a)

the registration officer is satisfied that the elector is or will be registered in the register of electors,

(b)

there is in force an appointment of the applicant as the elector’s proxy to vote for the elector at Senedd elections or the Senedd election concerned,

(c)

the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth, and

(d)

the application meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1.

F2(5A)

Any application granted under paragraph (4)(a) to vote by post as proxy, is to be granted for—

(a)

the period ending with the third 31 January following the date on which the application is granted, or

(b)

any shorter period specified in the application.

(6)

The registration officer must keep a record of the persons whose applications under paragraph (4)(a) have been granted showing—

F3(a)

the periods for which they may vote by post as proxy, in accordance with paragraph (5A), and

(b)

the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent.

(7)

Where, in the case of a particular election, a person included in the record kept under paragraph (6) applies to the registration officer for their ballot paper to be sent to a different address from that shown in the record, the registration officer must grant the application if it meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1.

(8)

In respect of each Senedd election, the registration officer must keep a special list (“the proxy postal voters list”) of—

(a)

those who are for the time being included in the record kept under paragraph (6), and

(b)

those whose applications under paragraph (4)(b) have been granted in respect of the election concerned,

together with the addresses provided by them in their applications under paragraph (4)(a) or (7) as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent.

(9)

In the case of a person who has an anonymous entry in the register, the special list under paragraph (8) must contain only the person’s electoral number and the period for which the anonymous entry has effect.

(10)

The registration officer must remove a person from the record kept under paragraph (8)—

(a)

if that person applies to the registration officer to be removed,

(b)

in the case of a person who applied to vote by post as proxy F4, once the period for which the person is entitled to vote by post as proxy, in accordance with paragraph (5A), has ended,

(c)

if the elector ceases to be registered in the register of electors, or

(d)

if the appointment of the person concerned as the elector’s proxy ceases to be in force, whether or not that person is re-appointed.

(11)

Paragraph (2) does not prevent a person, at the polling station allotted to them, marking a tendered ballot paper in pursuance of rule 50 of Schedule 5.

(12)

The registration officer may dispense with the requirement under paragraph (5)(c) for the applicant to provide a signature if the registration officer is satisfied that the applicant is unable to—

(a)

provide a signature because of any disability the applicant has,

(b)

provide a signature because the applicant is unable to read or write, or

(c)

(13)

The registration officer must also keep a record in relation to the persons whose applications under paragraph (4)(a) or (b) have been granted showing—

(a)

their dates of birth, and

(b)

their signatures, except in cases where the registration officer has dispensed with the requirement to provide a signature in pursuance of paragraph (12).

(14)

The record kept under paragraph (13) must be retained by the registration officer for the period prescribed in paragraph 4 of Schedule 1.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1: Words in art. 10(4)(a) omitted (3.11.2026) by virtue of The Representation of the People (Absent Voting and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/91), regs. 1(3), 6(2) (with Pt. 7)
F2: Art. 10(5A) inserted (3.11.2026) by The Representation of the People (Absent Voting and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/91), regs. 1(3), 6(3) (with Pt. 7)
F3: Art. 10(6)(a) substituted (3.11.2026) by The Representation of the People (Absent Voting and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/91), regs. 1(3), 6(4) (with Pt. 7)
F4: Words in art. 10(10)(b) substituted (3.11.2026) by The Representation of the People (Absent Voting and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (W.S.I. 2026/91), regs. 1(3), 6(5) (with Pt. 7)

Commencement

I1: Art. 10 in force at 18.7.2025, see art. 1(2)