Application to vote by post or proxy at a particular PCC election
3.—(1) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post at a particular PCC election, the officer must grant the application if—
(a)the officer is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register of electors, and
(b)the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements set out in Part 2 of this Schedule.
(2) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by proxy at a particular PCC election, the officer must grant the application if—
(a)the officer is satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances on the date of the poll will be or are likely to be such that the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at the polling station to which the applicant is, or is likely to be, allotted under the PCC elections rules,
(b)the officer is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register of electors, and
(c)the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements set out in Part 2 of this Schedule.
(3) Where a person who has an anonymous entry in the register applies to the registration officer to vote by proxy at a particular PCC election, the registration officer must grant the application if it meets the requirements set out in Part 2 of this Schedule.
(4) Nothing in sub-paragraph (1), (2) or (3) applies to—
(a)a person who is included in the record kept under paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (absent vote at parliamentary or local government elections for definite or indefinite period)(1), or
(b)a person who is included in the record kept under paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 2004 (absent vote at European Parliamentary elections for definite or indefinite period)(2).
(5) But if a person is included in a record mentioned in sub-paragraph (4) and is shown in the record as voting by post, the person may, in respect of a particular PCC election, apply to the registration officer—
(a)for his or her ballot paper to be sent to a different address from that shown in the record, or
(b)to vote by proxy.
(6) The registration officer must grant an application under sub-paragraph (5) if—
(a)in the case of any application, it meets the requirements set out in Part 2 of this Schedule, and
(b)in the case of an application to vote by proxy, the officer is satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances on the date of the poll will be or are likely to be such that the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at the polling station to which the applicant is, or is likely to be allotted, under the PCC elections rules.
(7) The registration officer may dispense with the requirement under sub-paragraph (1)(b) or (2)(c) for the applicant to provide a signature if the officer is satisfied that the applicant is unable—
(a)to provide a signature because of any disability the applicant has, or
(b)to provide a signature because the applicant is unable to read or write, or
(c)to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any such disability or inability.
(8) The registration officer must keep a record of those whose applications under this paragraph have been granted showing—
(a)their dates of birth, and
(b)except in cases where the registration officer in pursuance of sub-paragraph (7) has dispensed with the requirement to provide a signature, their signatures.
(9) The record kept under sub-paragraph (8) must be retained by the registration officer for the period specified in paragraph 26 of this Schedule (the personal identifiers record).
Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (c.2) also has effect in relation to mayoral elections in England and Wales by virtue of Schedule 2 to the Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/1024). It also has effect in relation to referendums in England by virtue of Schedule 4 to the Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (England) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/323) and Schedule 4 to the Local Authorities (Conduct of Referendums) (Council Tax Increases) (England) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 2012/444).