{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/synodical-government-measure-1969/schedule-3/paragraph-54",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/synodical-government-measure-1969/schedule-3/paragraph-54.json",
  "legislation": "ukcm/1969/2",
  "legislation_title": "Synodical Government Measure 1969",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/synodical-government-measure-1969",
  "path": "schedule/3/paragraph/54",
  "kind": "paragraph",
  "number": "54",
  "heading": null,
  "text": "(1) A person is entitled to vote in an election to the House of Laity held in a diocese if, at the close of nominations, the person is a diocesan elector in that diocese.\n(2) In each diocese other than the diocese in Europe, the diocesan electors are the members of the house of laity of each deanery synod in the diocese, apart from any person who is—\n(a) co-opted under Rule 18(2), or\n(b) a lay member of a religious community which has separate representation in the General Synod under Rule 46(1)(c).\n(3) In the diocese in Europe, the diocesan electors are the persons elected by the annual meeting of each chaplaincy, with the number to be elected being determined by the bishop's council and standing committee of the diocese; and a person is qualified for election as a diocesan elector if he or she is a lay person—\n(a) who is an actual communicant,\n(b) who is aged 18 or over, and\n(c) whose name is entered on the electoral roll of a chaplaincy in the diocese.\n(4) The deadline for qualifying as a diocesan elector in an election to the House of Laity is 6.00 a.m. on—\n(a) the date of the dissolution of the Synod, or\n(b) in the case of an election to fill a casual vacancy, the date on which invitations to nominate are issued.\n(5) The diocesan electoral registration officer must, by the date given in the timetable (which must be at least 21 days before the invitations to nominate are issued under Rule 55), give the secretary of each deanery synod in the diocese a copy of the names and addresses recorded in the register of lay electors.\n(6) The secretary of each deanery synod must, by the date given in the timetable (which must be within seven days of the date given in the timetable for the purposes of paragraph (5)), provide the diocesan electoral registration officer with—\n(a) if the names and addresses are correct, a certificate in writing to that effect, or\n(b) if they are not correct, a notification in writing of the corrections required.\n(7) In ascertaining for the purposes of paragraph (6) whether the names and addresses are correct, the secretary of each deanery synod must ask each elector who has not provided an email address whether he or she wishes to provide one.\n(8) The diocesan electoral registration officer must, no later than the date given in the timetable (which must be at least 14 days before the date given in the timetable for the issue of invitations to nominate under Rule 55), give a copy of the names and addresses (with any corrections required having been made) to the presiding officer in the election.\n(9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Sch. 3 substituted (1.1.2020) by Church Representation and Ministers Measure 2019 (No. 1), s. 1(3), Sch. 1 (with Sch. 3); S.I. 2019/1460, art. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in Sch. 3 rule 54(5) substituted (6.9.2025) by The Church Representation Rules (Amendment) (No. 1) Resolution 2025 (S.I. 2025/994), paras. 1(2), 2(4) (with para. 1(3))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in Sch. 3 rule 54(6) substituted (6.9.2025) by The Church Representation Rules (Amendment) (No. 1) Resolution 2025 (S.I. 2025/994), paras. 1(2), 2(5) (with para. 1(3))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in Sch. 3 rule 54(8) substituted (6.9.2025) by The Church Representation Rules (Amendment) (No. 1) Resolution 2025 (S.I. 2025/994), paras. 1(2), 2(6) (with para. 1(3))"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Sch. 3 rule 54(9)-(11) omitted (6.9.2025) by virtue of The Church Representation Rules (Amendment) (No. 1) Resolution 2025 (S.I. 2025/994), paras. 1(2), 2(7) (with para. 1(3))"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "word substituted",
      "affecting": "ukcm/2020/2",
      "affecting_title": "Channel Islands Measure 2020"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "ukcm/2026/1",
      "affecting_title": "Clergy Conduct Measure 2026"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "ukcm/2024/1",
      "affecting_title": "Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2024"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "ukcm/2024/1",
      "affecting_title": "Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2024"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "ukcm/2024/1",
      "affecting_title": "Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2024"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "ukcm/2024/1",
      "affecting_title": "Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2024"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukcm/1969/2/schedule/3/paragraph/54",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:23:24.860211+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."
}