Rural District Council Election Rules, 1951

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved

1951 No. 266

ELECTION RULES

The Rural District Council Election Rules, 1951

16thFebruary 1951

20thFebruary 1951

1stApril 1951

In pursuance of the powers conferred upon me by section twenty-nine and subsection (1) of section one hundred and sixty-five of the Representation of the People Act, 1949(a), and by section sixty-one of the Local Government Act, 1933(b), 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) 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:

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.

2.—(1) Where an election of rural district councillors and an election of parish councillors are held on the same date and for the same area, the polls shall, so far as practicable, be taken together.

(2) Where polls are so taken together, 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 parish councillors.

(3) Where polls are so taken together one half of any expenses which may be payable in respect of the two polls jointly, including the remuneration of any officers or clerks employed in the conduct thereof, shall be deemed to have been incurred in relation to the poll for the election of rural district councillors, and shall be defrayed accordingly.

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

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

3. In the application of those provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1949 referred to in subsection (1) of section one hundred and sixty-five 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 paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section one hundred and nineteen 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 the Second Schedule 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 the First Schedule hereto.

5. 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 the Second Schedule hereto, or a form to the like effect.

6.—(1) The Rural District Council Election Rules, 1949(a), are hereby revoked.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Rule, the Rules therein mentioned shall apply to any election to fill a casual vacancy polling for which takes place before the Fourth day of May, 1951.

7.—(1) These Rules and Regulations may be cited as the Rural District Council Election Rules, 1951, and shall come into operation on the first day of April, 1951.

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

J. Chuter Ede, One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.

Home Office, Whitehall.

16th February, 1951.

(a) S.I. 1949 (No. 285) I, p. 3685.

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

FIRST SCHEDULE

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 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. Notices.

54. 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 at the hour fixed for the rural district 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 if candidates remaining validly nominated to a number not less than the number of vacancies have, by written notices signed by them and delivered at the place and within the time for delivery of notices of withdrawals of candidature, 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 district council and to be exhibited at such places in the electoral area as the returning officer may determine.

Nomination of candidates

5.—(1) Each candidate shall be nominated by a separate nomination paper in the form in the Appendix, or a form to the like effect, delivered at the place fixed for the purpose.

(2) The nomination paper shall state the full names, place of residence and description of the candidate and the surname shall be placed first in the list of his...

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