Rural Borough Council Election Rules 1965

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 1965/2122

1965 No. 2122

REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE

The Rural Borough Council Election Rules 1965

14thDecember 1965

22ndDecember 1965

1stJanuary 1966

In pursuance of the powers conferred upon me by sections 29, 78 and 165(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1949(a), and by section 61 of the Local Government Act 1933(b), (as extended by paragraphs 1 and 7 of Schedule 7 to the Local Government Act 1958(c)), I hereby make the following Rules for the conduct of an election of rural borough councillors and of the mayor of a rural borough, and the following Regulations prescribing the form of declaration of acceptance of office by the mayor of a rural borough and by a rural borough councillor:—

1.—(1) For an election of rural borough councillors the clerk of the council of the rural district in which the rural borough is situate shall be the returning officer, and if at such election the office of clerk of the rural district council is vacant or the clerk is for any reason unable to act, the chairman of the rural district council shall forthwith appoint another person to be the returning officer for that election:

Provided that where the rural borough councillors and any rural district councillors are to be elected on the same date and for the same area, the returning officer for the election of the rural district councillors shall be the returning officer for the election of the rural borough councillors.

(2) The returning officer may by writing under his hand appoint a fit person to be his deputy for all or any of the purposes of an election, but where the rural borough councillors and any rural district councillors are to be elected on the same date and for the same area and a person is appointed deputy for any of the purposes of the election of the rural district councillors, that person shall be deemed to be appointed the returning officer's deputy for the corresponding purposes of the election of the rural borough councillors; and any functions which a returning officer is authorised or required to discharge in relation to the election may be discharged by a deputy so appointed.

(3) A deputy acting as returning officer under the provisions of this Rule shall, as respects the election for which he is so acting, follow the instructions of the returning officer.

2. Where the poll at an election of rural district councillors is taken together with the poll at an election of rural borough councillors, one ballot box may, if the returning officer thinks fit, be used for the two elections;

(a) 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 68.

(b) 23 & 24 Geo. 5. c. 51.

(c) 6 & 7 Eliz. 2. c. 55.

but, if separate ballot boxes are used, no vote for any rural borough councillor shall be rendered invalid by the ballot paper being placed in the box intended for the reception of ballot papers for rural district councillors.

3. In the application of those provisions of the Representation of the People Act 1949 referred to in section 165(1) of that Act to an election of the mayor of a rural borough and of rural borough councillors the following adaptation and modification shall have effect:—

For any reference to the clerk of the authority for which the election is held there shall be substituted a reference to the clerk of the council of the rural district in which the rural borough is situate.

In section 119(2)(b) of the said Act for the words "such amount not exceeding five hundred pounds" there shall be substituted the words "an amount of fifty pounds or such smaller amount or such larger amount not exceeding three hundred pounds".

4. In the application of the local elections rules contained in Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 1949 to an election of rural borough councillors, adaptations, alterations and exceptions shall be made therein so that the said local elections rules shall read as set out in Schedule I hereto.

5.—(1) The declaration of acceptance of office by the mayor of a rural borough or by a rural borough councillor shall be in the form in Schedule 2 hereto, or a form to the like effect.

(2) The declaration as to election expenses shall be in the form in Schedule 2 hereto, or a form to the like effect.

6.—(1) These Rules and Regulations may be cited as the Rural Borough Council Election Rules 1965 and shall come into operation on 1st January 1966.

(2) The Interpretation Act 1889(a) shall apply to the interpretation of these Rules and Regulations as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

Frank Soskice, One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.

Home Office, Whitehall.

14th December 1965.

(a) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 63.

SCHEDULE 1

ELECTION RULES

Arrangement of rules

PART I

PROVISIONS AS TO TIME

Rule

1. Timetable.

2. Computation of time.

3. Hours of poll.

PART II

STAGES COMMON TO CONTESTED AND UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS

4. Notice of election.

5. Nomination of candidates.

6. Subscription of nomination paper.

7. Consent to nomination.

8. Place for delivery of nomination papers.

9. Decisions as to validity of nomination papers.

10. Publication of nominations.

11. Withdrawal of candidates.

12. Nomination in more than one ward.

13. Method of election.

PART III

CONTESTED ELECTIONS

General Provisions

14. Poll to be taken by ballot.

15. The ballot papers.

16. The official mark.

17. Prohibition of disclosure of vote.

18. Use of schools and public rooms.

Action to be taken before the poll

19. Notice of poll.

20. Death of candidate.

21. Provision of polling stations.

22. Appointment of presiding officers and clerks.

23. List of proxies.

24. Equipment of polling stations.

25. Appointment of polling and counting agents.

26. Declaration of secrecy.

The poll

27. Admission to polling station.

28. Keeping of order in station.

29. Sealing of ballot boxes.

30. Questions to be put to voters.

31. Challenge of voter.

32. Voting procedure.

33. Votes marked by presiding officer.

34. Voting by blind persons.

35. Tendered ballot papers.

36. Spoilt ballot papers.

37. Adjournment of poll in case of riot.

38. Procedure on close of poll.

Counting of Votes

39. Attendance at counting of votes.

40. The count.

41. Re-count.

42. Rejected ballot papers.

43. Decisions on ballot papers.

44. Equality of votes.

PART IV

FINAL PROCEEDINGS IN CONTESTED AND UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS

45. Declaration of result.

46. The return.

PART V

DISPOSAL OF DOCUMENTS

47. Verification of ballot paper account.

48. Delivery of documents to clerk of the council.

49. Orders for production of documents.

50. Retention and public inspection of documents.

51. Supplemental provisions as to documents.

PART VI

SUPPLEMENTAL

52. General duty of returning officer.

53. Interpretation.

APPENDIX

FORMS

Notice of election.

Nomination paper.

Statement as to persons nominated.

Ballot paper.

Directions for the guidance of the voters in voting.

Certificate of employment.

Declaration to be made by the companion of a blind voter.

PART I

PROVISIONS AS TO TIME

Timetable

1. The proceedings at the election shall be conducted in accordance with the following Table.

TIMETABLE

 Proceeding Time
                Publication of notice of election … Not later than the twenty-second day
                 before the day of election
                Delivery of nomination papers … … Not later than noon on the sixteenth
                 day before the day of election
                Despatch of notices of decisions on Not later than noon on the thirteenth
                 nominations and publication of day before the day of election
                 statement as to persons nominated
                Delivery of notices of withdrawals of Not later than noon on the twelfth
                 candidature day before the day of election
                Notice of poll … … … … … Not later than the fifth day before
                 the day of election
                Notice of appointment of polling or Not later than the third day before
                 counting agents the day of election.
                Polling … … … … … … … On the day of election.
                

Computation of time

2. In computing any period of time for the purposes of the Timetable, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday, bank holiday or day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning and the Saturday before and the Tuesday after Easter Day or Whit Sunday shall be disregarded and any such day shall not be treated as a day for the purpose of any proceedings up to the completion of the poll nor shall the returning officer be obliged to proceed with the counting of the votes thereon.

Hours of poll

3.—(1) The poll shall commence—

(a) where the poll is taken together with the poll at an election of rural district councillors, at the hour at which the last-mentioned poll commences;

(b) in any other case, at the hour fixed for the rural borough by the county council by any general or special order or, if no such order has been made, at noon,

and be kept open till eight o'clock in the evening of the same day and no longer:

Provided that the poll shall be kept open till nine o'clock in the evening—

(i) where the poll is taken together with the poll at an election of rural district councillors, if the poll at the last-mentioned election is kept open till nine o'clock in the evening; or

(ii) whether or not the poll is so taken, if candidates remaining validly nominated at the election of rural borough councillors to a number not less than the number of vacancies at that election have by written notices signed by them and delivered at the place and within the time for delivery of notices of withdrawals of candidature at that election so requested.

(2) A notice under this rule shall not have effect as respects any candidate if revoked by a further written notice signed by him and delivered as aforesaid.

PART II

STAGES COMMON TO CONTESTED AND UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS

Notice of election

4.—(1) Notice of the election in the form in the Appendix, or a form to the like effect, shall be prepared, signed and published by the returning officer.

(2) The notice shall be published by causing it to be affixed to the offices of the rural borough council and, in the case of a ward election, to be exhibited at such places in the ward as the returning officer may determine.

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