Parliament (Elections and Meeting) Act 1943

Appointment of proxies

1 A proxy shall be appointed by means of a proxy paper issued by the registration officer to the person appointed as proxy, on an application made by the voter in accordance with electoral registration regulations.

2 Where an application is made by a voter for the issue of a proxy paper, it shall be the duty of the registration officer, on being satisfied that the voter is entitled to appoint a proxy, to issue a proxy paper to the person appointed as proxy, unless the registration officer is satisfied that that person is not willing to be appointed or cannot lawfully be appointed by virtue of the following provisions of this Schedule.

3 A proxy paper—

(a) shall cease to be in force if a new proxy paper is issued by the registration officer on a further application by the voter ; and

(b) subject to the following provisions of this Schedule, may be cancelled by the voter by giving notice in that behalf to the registration officer in the prescribed form and containing the prescribed particulars :

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to a proxy paper issued on an application made by virtue of sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 1 of the First Schedule to this Act.

4 Subject to the last foregoing paragraph, a proxy paper shall remain in force—

(a) in the case of a paper issued on an application made by virtue of sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 1 of the First Schedule to this Act, until the conclusion of abandonment of the election at which the voter is entitled to vote by proxy ;

(b) in the case of a paper issued on an application made by virtue of sub-paragraph (b) of the said paragraph 1, until the expiration of the period as respects which the application is made ; and

(c) in the case of a paper issued on the application of a service voter, so long as that voter remains entitled to appoint a proxy by virtue of the same service declaration,

5 An application for the issue of a proxy paper or notice cancelling a proxy paper shall not take effect as respects any election unless received by the registration officer before the initiation thereof :

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to an application for the issue of a proxy paper made by virtue of sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 1 of the First Schedule to this Act.

6 Any application made by a service voter for the issue of a proxy paper, or notice given by a service voter cancelling a proxy paper, shall be transmitted to the registration officer concerned in such manner as may be prescribed by national registration regulations, and those regulations may provide for the inclusion in the central index of service voters of such particulars as may be prescribed by those regulations with respect to the appointment of proxies and the cancellation of any such appointment.

7 A person shall not be appointed a proxy unless he is a British subject of full age and not subject to any legal incapacity.

8 A voter shall not appoint more than one person as proxy to vote on his behalf in the same constituency, and in any case not more than two persons.

9 A registration officer shall keep such record (hereafter in this Schedule referred to as the " record of proxies") as may be prescribed of the persons who have appointed proxies under Part I of this Act and of the persons appointed as proxies, and the said record shall be open to inspection during business hours at such place in the constituency as may be appointed by the registration officer.

10 A registration officer shall, on the application of any person, allow that person to take extracts from, or, in such cases as may be prescribed and on payment of the prescribed fee, supply to that person copies of the record of proxies.

11 Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on any proxy paper issued under this Schedule.