ELECTORAL ACT 2017 - SECT 149 Preliminary scrutiny of postal ballot papers

ELECTORAL ACT 2017 - SECT 149

149 Preliminary scrutiny of postal ballot papers

(1) The Electoral Commissioner--

(a) may, on any day not more than 14 days before election day, at an approved time and place, and in the presence of such scrutineers as choose to be present, produce such unopened envelopes on which a postal vote certificate is printed containing postal votes as have been received by the Electoral Commissioner, and

(b) must, at the scrutiny, produce unopened all remaining envelopes on which a postal vote certificate is printed containing postal votes--

(i) received by the Electoral Commissioner following the close of voting before the expiry of the period prescribed by the regulations, being a period of not more than 13 days, or

(ii) received by any election official before 6 pm on election day.

(2) The Electoral Commissioner must then, if satisfied that--

(a) the postal vote certificate has been properly signed and witnessed, and

(a1) for a postal vote certificate posted to the Electoral Commissioner--the certificate was completed before the close of voting, and

(a2) for a postal vote certificate delivered to an election official--the certificate was delivered before the close of voting, and

(b) the elector is enrolled for the district for which he or she claimed to be enrolled,

accept the ballot paper for further scrutiny, but if he or she is not so satisfied, disallow the ballot paper without opening the envelope.

(3) If the Electoral Commissioner has accepted a ballot paper for further scrutiny, the Commissioner must--

(a) open the envelope without destroying it, and

(b) withdraw the postal ballot paper, and

(c) without inspecting the ballot paper or allowing any other person to do so, place the ballot paper in a ballot box for further scrutiny.

(4) Despite subsection (2), if it appears to the Electoral Commissioner that an elector who signed a postal vote certificate on an envelope containing a ballot paper for an election for a district is enrolled for some other district, the Electoral Commissioner must arrange for the envelope to be included in the scrutiny for that other district in the manner set out in subsection (5).

(5) The Electoral Commissioner is to open the envelope without destroying it, withdraw any ballot paper contained in the envelope and without, as far as practicable, inspecting the ballot paper or allowing any other person to do so--

(a) in the case of any ballot paper for a periodic Council election, is to accept the ballot paper for further scrutiny and place it in a ballot box for the periodic Council election, and

(b) in the case of any ballot paper for an Assembly election, is to disallow the ballot paper.

(6) For the avoidance of doubt, a ballot box into which any ballot paper has been placed under this section must not be opened before the close of voting.