Information about returning postal votes
The term ‘postal vote(s)’ is used on this form and means a postal voting document such as a postal ballot paper, postal voting statement or other document that has been issued to a person for the purpose of enabling the person to vote by post at a relevant election.
The number of postal votes you can hand in
You may hand in your own postal vote and those of up to 5 other electors per poll.
If there are multiple polls taking place, and postal votes for these polls have been issued separately, the postal votes handed in must still only belong to a total of 5 other electors, however there may be multiple postal votes per elector.
If you are acting as a proxy postal voter, any proxy postal votes you hand in are deemed as being your own, and the total number of other electors for whom you can hand in postal votes is reduced by the number of proxy postal votes you are handing in. For example, if you hand in 2 proxy postal votes, you can hand in postal votes for up to 3 other electors.
If you hand in, or are suspected of handing in, postal votes on behalf of more electors than permitted, for a single poll, all other postal votes received will be rejected except your own.
Handling of postal votes by political campaigners
Section 112A of the Representation of the People Act 1983 and paragraph 9A of Schedule 2 of the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections Order 2012, make it an offence for a political campaigner at an election to handle the postal vote(s) of another person, unless that person is a close relative or someone for whom they or the organisation which employs or engages them provide regular care.
A close relative is defined as a spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild. Two people living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners are treated as close relatives.
If a political campaigner hands in, or is suspected of handing in, the postal votes of any other individual who is not a close relative or someone for whom they provide care, those postal votes will be rejected. The political campaigner will still be permitted to hand in their own postal vote(s).
A political campaigner is defined within this legislation as a person who is:
(a) a candidate at the election
(b) an election agent of a candidate at the election
(c) a sub-agent of an election agent at the election
(d) employed or engaged by a person who is a candidate at the election for the purposes of that person’s activities as a candidate
(e) a member of a registered political party who carries out an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election
(f) employed or engaged by a registered political party in connection with the party’s political activities
(g) employed or engaged by a person listed in (a) to (f) above, to carry out an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election
(h) employed or engaged by a person within paragraph (g) to carry out an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election