Rural District Council Election Rules 1969

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 1969/757

1969 No. 757

REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE

The Rural District Council Election Rules 1969

23rdMay 1969

5thJune 1969

16thFebruary 1970

In pursuance of the powers conferred upon me by section 29 and section 165(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1949(a) and paragraph 31(1) of Schedule 8 to the Local Government Act 1958(b), and by section 61 of the Local Government Act 1933(c), I hereby make the following Rules for the conduct of an election of rural district councillors and of the chairman of a rural district council, and the following Regulations prescribing the form of declaration of acceptance of office by the chairman of a rural district council and by a rural district councillor:—

1.—(1) These Rules and Regulations may be cited as the Rural District Council Election Rules 1969 and shall come into operation on 16th February 1970:

Provided that they shall not have effect in relation to an election notice of which has been published before that date.

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

2.—(1) The Rural District Council Election Rules 1951(e), the Rural District Council Election Rules 1954(f), the Rural District Council Election Rules 1959(g) and the Rural District Council Election Rules 1962(h) are hereby revoked.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Rule, the Rules therein mentioned shall apply to any election notice of which has been published before these Rules and Regulations come into operation.

3.—(1) For an election of rural district councillors the clerk of the rural district council 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:

(a) 1949 c. 68.

(b) 1958 c. 55.

(c) 1933 c. 51.

(d) 1889 c. 63.

(e) S.I. 1951/266 (1951 II, p. 361).

(f) S.I. 1954/1484 (1954 II, p. 1919).

(g) S.I. 1959/430 (1959 II, p. 2310).

(h) S.I. 1962/1268 (1962 II, p. 1370).

Provided that, in the case of a first election of rural district councillors for a newly constituted rural district, a person appointed in accordance with the order constituting the new rural district, or, if the order contains no provision relating to the appointment of a returning officer, a person appointed by the county council, shall be the returning officer.

(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, 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.

4. Where the poll at an election of rural district councillors is taken together with the poll at an election of rural borough or parish councillors, one ballot box may, if the returning officer thinks fit, be used for the two elections; but, if separate ballot boxes are used, no vote for any rural district councillor shall be rendered invalid by the ballot paper being placed in the box intended for the reception of ballot papers for rural borough or parish councillors.

5. 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 chairman of a rural district council and of rural district councillors the following modification shall have effect:—

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".

6. 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 district councillors, adaptations, alterations and exceptions shall be made therein so that the said local elections rules shall read as set out in Schedule 1 hereto.

7. The declaration of acceptance of office by the chairman of a rural district council or by a rural district councillor shall be in the form in Schedule 2 hereto, or a form to the like effect.

James Callaghan, One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.

Home Office, Whitehall.

23rd May 1969.

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 electoral area.

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. Postal ballot papers.

21. Provision of polling stations.

22. Appointment of presiding officers and clerks.

23. Special lists.

24. Equipment of polling stations.

25. Appointment of polling and counting agents.

26. Declaration of secrecy.

The poll

Rule

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. Sealing of ballot papers.

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. Countermand or abandonment of poll on death of candidate.

53. General duty of returning officer.

54. Notices.

55. 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-fifth day
                 before the day of election
                Delivery of nomination papers Not later than noon on the nineteenth
                 day before the day of election
                Despatch of notices of decisions on Not later than noon on the seventeenth
                 nominations and publication of day before the day of election
                 statement as to persons nominated
                Delivery of notices of withdrawals Not later than noon on the sixteenth
                 of 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.—(1) In computing any period of time for the purposes of the Timetable, a Sunday, day of the Christmas break, of the Easter break or of a bank holiday break, or day appointed for public thanks giving or mourning 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:

Provided that where under Part III of these rules a person ought to proceed with the preparation of special lists or the issue of postal ballot papers on the first or last days of the Christmas break, the Easter break or a bank holiday break, or on the Saturday in the Easter break, nothing in this rule shall absolve him from that duty.

(2) In this rule "the Christmas break" means the period beginning with the last week day before Christmas Day and ending with the first week day after Christmas Day which is not a bank holiday, "the Easter break" means the period beginning with the Thursday before and ending with the Tuesday after Easter Day, and "a bank holiday break" means any bank holiday not included in the Christmas break or the Easter break and the period beginning with the last week day before that bank holiday and ending with the next week day which is not a bank holiday.

Hours of poll

3.—(1) The poll shall commence at the hour fixed for the electoral area 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 borough or parish councillors, if the poll at the rural borough or parish 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 district councillors to a number not less than the number of vacancies at that election have, by written notices signed by them and...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT