Section 17: Citation, Construction, Commencement and Extent
64.This section deals with the Act's short title, commencement and extent.
65.Subsection (3) has the result that sections 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, Schedule 5 and paragraph 6 of Schedule 6 came into force as soon as the Act received Royal Assent. The rest of the provisions will be brought into force by order at some later date or dates.
66.Subsections (5)-(9) deal with the Act's geographical extent. The provisions relating to absent voting do not apply to Northern Ireland. The provisions relating to pilot schemes do not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland. Schedule 3, which deals with registration for the purposes of local elections in Northern Ireland and reflects section 1 and other changes made by the Act, applies only to Northern Ireland. The provisions relating to the delivery of candidates' election addresses in Greater London Authority elections apply only to Greater London. The rest of the substantive provisions of the Act apply to all of the United Kingdom.