Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
| Year | 2013 |
Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
2013 CHAPTER 6
An Act to make provision about the registration of electors and the administration and conduct of elections; and to amend section 3(2)(a) of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986.
[31st January 2013]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-
PART 1
Individual electoral registration in Great Britain
1 Individual registration
(1) After section 10ZB of the Representation of the People Act 1983 insert-
"10ZC Registration of electors in Great Britain
(1) A registration officer in Great Britain must enter a person ("P") in a register maintained by the officer if-
(a) an application for registration is made by someone who appears to the officer to be P,
(b) any requirements imposed by or under this Act in relation to the application are met, and
(c) P appears to the officer to be entitled to be registered in the register.
(2) In determining an application under this section, the officer must consider any objection made in accordance with the prescribed requirements by another person whose name appears in the register.
(3) Regulations may make provision about the procedure for determining applications under this section."
(2) Schedule 1 contains amendments about the alteration of registers and removal from a register.
(3) Registration officers in Great Britain must have regard to any guidance given by the Minister about the determination of applications under section 10ZC of the 1983 Act.
(4) The guidance that may be given includes guidance about the process for determining whether the conditions in subsection (1) of that section are met and the relative weight to be given to different kinds of evidence.
(5) Subsections (3) and (4) cease to have effect at the end of the period of 5 years beginning with the day on which they come fully into force.
2 Applications for registration and verification of entitlement etc
(1) Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 1983 (provisions which may be contained in regulations as to registration etc) is amended as follows.
(2) In paragraph 1, after sub-paragraph (2) insert-
"(2A) Provision made under sub-paragraph (2) authorising or requiring a registration officer in Great Britain to-
(a) require a person who has made an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD to provide evidence that he or she is the person named in the application, or
(b) require a person who has made an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD, or any person who has an entry in a register, to provide evidence for the purpose of enabling the officer to determine whether a person is entitled to be registered in a register maintained by the officer,
must specify the kind of evidence that a person may be required to provide (for examples, see paragraph 3ZA(5)).
(2B) Provision of the kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (2A) may authorise or require the registration officer to require a person to provide the evidence to a registration officer or to some other prescribed person (or person of a prescribed description)."
(3) After paragraph 3 insert-
"3ZA
(1) Provision about applications under section 10ZC or 10ZD, including in particular provision about-
(a) the form and contents of applications and of any declarations to be made in connection with them;
(b) the manner in which applications are to be made.
(2) Provision made under sub-paragraph (1) may include provision-
(a) conferring functions on registration officers, or local or public authorities, to enable applications to be made in a particular manner;
(b) conferring other functions on registration officers;
(c) conferring functions on the Electoral Commission.
(3) Provision requiring a person making an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD-
(a) to provide evidence that he or she is the person named in the application;
(b) to provide evidence of entitlement to be registered.
(4) Provision made under sub-paragraph (3) must specify the kind of evidence that a person is required to provide.
(5) Examples of the evidence that may be specified include a person's date of birth or national insurance number.
(6) Provision made under sub-paragraph (3) may require a person to provide the evidence to a registration officer or to some other prescribed person (or person of a prescribed description)."
(4) After paragraph 8A insert-
"8B
(1) Provision authorising or requiring a registration officer in determining an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD, in prescribed cases, to treat a prescribed person's statement of a fact as sufficient evidence of that fact.
(2) In sub-paragraph (1) "pre scribed" includes of a prescribed description."
(5) In section 201 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (regulations), before subsection (3) insert-
"(2C) Regulations made for the purposes only of omitting a particular kind of evidence from the kinds of evidence that a person is or may be required to provide by virtue of regulations under paragraph 1(2A) or 3ZA(3) of Schedule 2 shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament (and subsection (2) does not apply to regulations made for those purposes only)."
(6) Schedule 2 to this Act contains amendments related to this section.
3 Proxies to be registered electors
In paragraph 6 of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (absent voting in Great Britain), for sub-paragraphs (3) and (4) substitute-
"(3) A person is not capable of being appointed to vote, or voting, as proxy at a parliamentary election unless the person is or will be registered in a register of parliamentary electors in Great Britain or Northern Ireland.
(3A) A person is not capable of being appointed to vote, or voting, as proxy at a local government election unless the person is or will be registered in a register of local government electors in Great Britain or Northern Ireland.
(4) A person is not capable of being appointed to vote, or voting, as proxy at a parliamentary or local government election if the person is subject to any legal incapacity (age apart) to vote at that election as an elector."
4 Annual canvass
After section 9C of the Representation of the People Act 1983 insert-
"9D Maintenance of registers: duty to conduct canvass in Great Britain
(1) Each registration officer in Great Britain must conduct an annual canvass in relation to the area for which the officer acts.
(a) the names and addresses of persons who are entitled to be registered in a register maintained by the offi cer but who are not registered;
(b) those persons who are registered in such a register but who are not entitled to be registered.
(3) The canvass is to be conducted in a manner to be set out in regulations.
(4) The regulations may confer functions on the Electoral Commission (for example, the Commission may be required to design a canvass form).
(a) to obtain information before sending out a canvass form,
(b) to supplement information provided on a canvass form, or
(c) to obtain information where no canvass form is returned.
(a) the registration of persons in respect of residence in penal institutions (within the meaning of section 3) or mental hospitals (within the meaning of section 7) or other places at which persons to whom section 7A applies may be detained,
(b) the registration of persons in pursuance of declarations of local connection, service declarations or overseas electors' declarations, or
(c) the registration of persons with anonymous entries in the register."
5 Invitations to register
(1) After section 9D of the Representation of the People Act 1983 insert-
"9E Maintenance of registers: invitations to register in Great Britain
(1) A registration officer in Great Britain must give a person an invitation to apply for registration in a register maintained by the officer if-
(a) the officer is aware of the person's name and address,
(b) the person is not registered in the register, and
(c) the officer has reason to believe that the person may be entitled to be registered in the register.
(2) Regulations may make provision about invitations under subsection (1), including-
(a) provision about the form and contents of invitations;
(b) provision about the giving of invitations (for example, provision about the manner in which they must be given or how often they must be given);
(c) provision requiring invitations to be accompanied by, or combined with, application forms or other documents (including partially completed application forms).
(3) Regulations under subsection (2) may confer functions on the Electoral Commission (for example, the Commission may be required to design an invitation).
(4) A registration officer who gives a person an invitation under subsection (1) may subsequently require the person to make an application for registration by a specified date.
(5) A requirement under subsection (4) is of no effect if the person is not entitled to be registered.
(6) Regulations-
(a ) may make provision about requirements under subsection (4) (including provision for them to be cancelled in specified circumstances);
(b) may specify steps that a registration...
To continue reading
Request your trial