{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/senedd-cymru-representation-of-the-people-order-2025/schedule-5/rule-73",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/senedd-cymru-representation-of-the-people-order-2025/schedule-5/rule-73.json",
  "legislation": "wsi/2025/864",
  "legislation_title": "The Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/senedd-cymru-representation-of-the-people-order-2025",
  "path": "schedule/5/rule/73",
  "kind": "rule",
  "number": "73",
  "heading": "Abandoned poll",
  "text": "(1) This rule applies to a poll which is abandoned in accordance with rule 72(1)(b) as if it were a poll at a contested election.\n(2) The presiding officer at any polling station in use at the election must take the steps, so far as not already taken, that the presiding officers would be required to take under rule 55 on the close of poll, except that it is not necessary for the presiding officer to prepare a ballot paper account.\n(3) No step or further step is to be taken for the counting of the ballot papers or of the votes.\n(4) The returning officer must deal with ballot papers and other documents that are in the returning officer’s possession when the poll is abandoned, or are subsequently delivered to the returning officer to comply with paragraph (2), in the same way that the returning officer would be required to deal with ballot papers and other documents under rules 66 and 67 on the completion of the counting of votes, except that—\n(a) the returning officer must seal up all the ballot papers, whether the votes on them have been counted or not, and\n(b) it is not necessary to seal up counted and rejected ballot papers in separate packets.\n(5) The provisions of rules 68 to 70 apply to ballot papers and other documents relating to the poll that is abandoned by reason of a candidate’s death, except that—\n(a) ballot papers on which the votes were neither counted nor rejected are to be treated as counted ballot papers, and\n(b) an order may be made under rule 68(2) and (3) only for the purposes of instituting or maintaining a prosecution for an offence in relation to ballot papers.",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "Sch. 5 rule 73 in force at 18.7.2025, see art. 1(2)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2025/864/schedule/5/rule/73",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-14T03:35:52.324656+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}