Local Government (General) Regulation 2021

Election manager’s functions The election manager—

may declare an area to be a remote area for the purposes of this section, and

may determine the places in that area that a team will visit for the purposes of this section, and

may determine the days and times when a team will visit those places (such a day must be after nomination day and before election day or a day to which the polling is adjourned), and

must take such steps as it thinks fit to give public notice of—

the places determined under paragraph (b), and

the days and times determined under paragraph (c) when a team will visit such a place for the purposes of this section.

Teams A team consists of two or more election officials, one of whom must be a pre-poll voting officer who is designated by the election manager as team leader. The team leader is to exercise the functions of the pre-poll voting officer under the following provisions of this section.

Visits and variation of places, days or times A team must make a visit or visits as notified under subsection (1)(d), but, if the team is unable for reasonable cause, or the pre-poll voting officer considers it inappropriate, to make such a visit, the officer may substitute another place, day or time for the visit and, in that event, must—

take such steps as he or she thinks fit to give public notice of the substituted place, day or time, and

inform the election manager.

Failure to visit does not invalidate election result Any failure by a team to make a visit in accordance with this section does not invalidate the result of the election.

Voting At any time when a team is at a place for the purposes of taking votes under this section in an election—

the pre-poll voting officer must have a pre-poll ballot-box, ballot-papers and such other things as are necessary for the votes of electors to be taken at the place, and

every person at the place who is entitled to vote in the election for the area is entitled to have his or her vote taken under this section, and

for purposes of, and in connection with, the taking of votes under this section—

the place is taken to be a pre-poll voting office, and

the pre-poll voting officer is taken to be the pre-poll voting officer at that office, and

an elector’s vote is so far as is reasonably practicable to be taken and dealt with in all respects as if the vote were recorded at a pre-poll voting office under usual conditions, but the following provisions are to be disregarded for this purpose—

section 321 regarding the qualifications to vote before election day,

section 326 regarding pre-poll voting times and candidate information sheets.

Ballot-box to be secured and forwarded to returning officer At the end of the last visit made by a team for the purposes of this section, the pre-poll voting officer must, in the presence of any other election official assisting the officer and any scrutineers who are present—

publicly close, fasten, seal and take charge of the ballot-box used by the officer for the purposes of this section, and

with the least possible delay, forward it for the purposes of scrutiny to the returning officer for the area concerned.

Relationship of this section to other provisions In relation to an area declared by the election manager to be a remote area, and without affecting subsection (5)(d), the provisions of this section apply in addition to, and without derogation from, the application of any other provision of this Regulation. However, any such other provision applies with any necessary modifications.