Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011

Admission to polling station

21 (1) The presiding officer must exclude from the polling station everyone except—

(a) voters,

(b) persons under the age of 18 who accompany voters to the polling station,

(c) the Chief Counting Officer, the Regional Counting Officer (in the case of a polling station in a region for which a Regional Counting Officer is appointed) and the counting officer,

(d) the referendum agents,

(e) the polling agents appointed to attend at the polling station,

(f) the clerks appointed to attend at the polling station,

(g) persons who are entitled to attend by virtue of any of sections 6A to 6D of the 2000 Act,

(h) the constables on duty, and

(i) the companions of voters with disabilities attending at the polling station.

(2) The presiding officer must regulate the total number of voters and persons under the age of 18 who accompany them to be admitted to the polling station at the same time.

(3) No more than one polling agent may be admitted at the same time to a polling station on behalf of the same referendum agent.

(4) A constable or person employed by a counting officer may be admitted to vote in person elsewhere than at the polling station allotted under these rules only on production and surrender of a certificate (in these rules referred to as a “certificate as to employment on duty on the day of the poll”) that—

(a) confirms that the person is a constable or, as the case may be, is employed by a counting officer,

(b) is in the form set out in Form 13 in Part 2 of this Schedule, and

(c) is signed by an officer of police of or above the rank of inspector or, as the case may be, by the counting officer.

(5) A certificate surrendered under this rule must be cancelled immediately.