Article 6 Absent vote at Senedd elections ...F12I1
England and Wales
Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post at Senedd elections, F1... the registration officer must grant the application if—
the registration officer is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register of electors, and
the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth, and meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1.
Any application granted under paragraph (1), is to be granted for—
the period ending with the third 31 January following the date on which the application is granted, or
any shorter period specified in the application.
Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by proxy at Senedd elections, whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in the application, the registration officer must grant the application if—
the registration officer is satisfied that the applicant is eligible to vote by proxy at Senedd elections,
the registration officer is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered on the register of electors, and
the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth, and meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1.
For the purposes of this article, a person (“P”) is eligible to vote by proxy at Senedd elections if—
P is or will be registered as a service voter,
P has an anonymous entry in the register of electors,
by reason of severe sight-impairment or other disability, P cannot reasonably be expected—
to go in person to the polling station allotted or likely to be allotted to P under this Order, or
to vote unaided there,
P cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to the polling station allotted to P by reason of the general nature of P’s occupation, service or employment, or that of P’s spouse or civil partner,
P cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to the polling station allotted to P by reason of P’s attendance on a course provided by an educational institution, or that of P’s spouse or civil partner, or
P cannot go in person from P’s qualifying address to the polling station allotted to P without making a journey by air or sea.
The registration officer must keep a record of the persons whose applications under this article have been granted showing—
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
in the case of those who may vote by post, F4the periods for which they may do so and the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers must be sent, and
in the case of those who may vote by proxy, F5whether the applications were to vote by proxy for an indefinite or particular period and specifying that period, and the names and addresses of those appointed as their proxies.
The registration officer must remove a person from the record kept under paragraph (4)—
if that person applies to the registration officer to be removed,
in the case of a person who is eligible to vote by proxy by virtue of having an anonymous entry, if that person ceases to have an anonymous entry,
in the case of a registered person, if that person ceases to be registered or registered at the same qualifying address or ceases to be, or becomes, registered in pursuance of—
a service declaration, or
a declaration of local connection,
in the case of any person shown in the record as voting by proxy, if the registration officer gives notice that the registration officer has reason to believe there has been a material change of circumstances, F6...
in the case of a person shown in the record as voting by post, once the period for which the person is entitled to vote by post, in accordance with paragraph (1A), has expired.
A person shown in the record kept under paragraph (4) as voting by post may make a further application to change the method of voting to vote by proxy instead, whether for an indefinite period or a particular period as specified in the application.
Where a registration officer would be required to grant an application made under paragraph (6) if that application were an application to vote by proxy made under paragraph (2), the registration officer must amend the record accordingly.
A person shown in the record kept under paragraph (4) as voting by proxy may make a further application to change the method of voting to vote by post insteadF10....
Paragraph (1A) applies to an application under sub-paragraph (8) to vote by post, as it applies to an application under paragraph (1).
If an application made under paragraph (8) meets the requirements of Schedule 1, the registration officer must amend the record accordingly.
The registration officer may dispense with the requirement under paragraphs (1)(b) and (2)(c) for the applicant to provide a signature if the registration officer is satisfied that the applicant is unable—
to provide a signature because of any disability the applicant has,
to provide a signature because the applicant is unable to read or write, or
to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any such disability or inability.
The registration officer must keep a record in relation to the persons whose applications under this article have been granted showing—
their dates of birth, and
their signatures, except in cases where the registration officer in pursuance of paragraph (10) has dispensed with the requirement to provide a signature.
The record kept under paragraph (11) must be retained by the registration officer for the period prescribed in paragraph 4 of Schedule 1.
Annotations
Textual amendments
- F1
Words in art. 6(1) 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), 5(3) (with Pt. 7)
- F2
Art. 6(1A) 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), 5(4) (with Pt. 7)
- F3
Art. 6(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), 5(5)(a) (with Pt. 7)
- F4
Words in art. 6(4)(b) 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), 5(5)(b) (with Pt. 7)
- F5
Words in art. 6(4)(c) 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), 5(5)(c) (with Pt. 7)
- F6
Word in art. 6(5)(d) 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), 5(6)(a) (with Pt. 7)
- F7
Words in art. 6(5)(e) 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), 5(6)(b)(i) (with Pt. 7)
- F8
Word in art. 6(5)(e) substituted for full stop (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), 5(6)(b)(ii) (with Pt. 7)
- F9
Art. 6(5)(f) 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), 5(6)(c) (with Pt. 7)
- F10
Words in art. 6(8) 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), 5(7) (with Pt. 7)
- F11
Art. 6(8A) 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), 5(8) (with Pt. 7)
- F12
Words in art. 6 heading 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), 5(2) (with Pt. 7)
Commencement
- I1
Art. 6 in force at 18.7.2025, see art. 1(2)