OpenLegislation

Paragraph 11 Closing dates for applicationsI1

England and Wales

Changes not yet applied. Later legislation changes this provision in ways not yet written into the text below:

(1)

An application—

(a)

to vote by post under article 6(1) or 7(1), or

(b)

from a proxy to vote by post under article 10(4),

must be disregarded for the purposes of any particular Senedd election if it is received by the registration officer after 5.00 p.m. on the eleventh day before the date of the poll at that election.

(2)

Subject to sub-paragraph (3) an application—

(a)

to vote by proxy under article 6(2) or 7(2), or

(b)

for the appointment of a proxy under article 9(6) or (7),

must be disregarded for the purposes of any particular Senedd election if it is received by the registration officer after 5.00 p.m. on the sixth day before the date of the poll at that election.

(3)

Where an application under article 7(2) is made—

(a)

on the grounds of the applicant’s disability and the applicant became disabled after 5.00 p.m. on the sixth day before the date of the poll at the election for which it is made,

(b)

on grounds relating to the applicant’s occupation, service or employment and the applicant became aware of those grounds after 5.00 p.m. on the sixth day before the date of the poll at the election for which it is made, or

(c)

by a person to whom article 5(9) applies,

the application, or an application under article 9(7) made by virtue of that application, must be refused if it is received after 5.00 p.m. on the day of the poll at the election for which it is made.

F1(3A)

If an application is made under article 7(2) or 9(7) in the circumstances set out in sub-paragraph (3B), the application must be refused if it is received after 5.00 p.m. on the day of the poll at the election for which it is made.

(3B)

The circumstances are that—

(a)

the applicant submitted the application because an earlier application submitted by that applicant under article 6(2) or 9(6) is to be disregarded for the election for which it is made because that earlier application—

(i)

was submitted prior to the deadline of 5.00 p.m. on the sixth day before the day of the poll at the election for which it is made,

(ii)

was submitted via the UK digital service, and

(iii)

was not received by the registration officer until after the deadline of 5.00 p.m. on the sixth day before the day of the poll at the election for which it is made due to a technical defect in the digital service, or

(b)

the application meets the conditions specified in sub-paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (a).

(4)

An application—

(a)

by an absent voter to alter their choice as to the manner of absent voting under article 6(6) or (8),

(b)

by a postal voter for their ballot paper to be sent to a different address or to vote instead by proxy at a particular election under article 7(4), or

(c)

from a proxy postal voter for their ballot paper to be sent to a different address at a particular election under article 10(7),

must be refused for the purposes of any particular Senedd election if it is received by the registration officer after 5.00 p.m. on the eleventh day before the date of the poll at that election.

(5)

The following must be disregarded for the purposes of any particular Senedd election if it is received by the registration officer after 5.00 p.m. on the eleventh day before the date of the poll at that election for which it is made—

(a)

an application under article 6(5)(a) by an elector to be removed from the record kept under article 6(4),

(b)

an application under article 10(10)(a) by a proxy to be removed from the record kept under article 10(8), and

(c)

a notice under article 9(9) of the cancellation of a proxy’s appointment.

(6)

Any application or notice mentioned in this paragraph must be disregarded for the purposes of a particular Senedd election if, before the application or notice is considered by the registration officer, the elector or proxy has returned a postal ballot paper to the returning officer for the Senedd constituency to which it relates, except where it has been returned in accordance with paragraph 14 or 15 of Schedule 2 (spoilt or lost postal ballot papers).

(7)

In computing a period of days for the purposes of this paragraph, the following days are to be disregarded—

(a)

a Saturday;

(b)

a Sunday;

(c)

Christmas Eve;

(d)

Christmas Day;

(e)

Good Friday;

(f)

a day that is a bank holiday in England and Wales under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971f1;

(g)

a day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1

Sch. 1 para. 11(3A)(3B) 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), 24(3) (with Pt. 7)

Commencement

I1

Sch. 1 para. 11 in force at 18.7.2025, see art. 1(2)

Footnotes

f1

1971 c. 80.