Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011

Delivery of ballot papers etc to returning officers

47 (1) The counting officer must deliver or cause to be delivered to the constituency returning officer the ballot papers for the Scottish parliamentary election.

(2) The counting officer must also deliver or cause to be delivered to the constituency returning officer the packets of—

(a) the ballot paper accounts and the statements as to the result of the verification of the ballot paper accounts for the Scottish parliamentary election;

(b) the unused and spoilt ballot papers for that election;

(c) the tendered ballot papers for that election;

(d) the certificates as to employment on duty on the day of the poll for that election.

(3) If the counting officer has not begun to count the votes given on the referendum ballot papers by the time the statements as to the result of the verification of the ballot paper accounts in relation to all the polls are prepared—

(a) those ballot papers must be sealed into packets, each of which must be endorsed with a description of its contents, and

(b) the packets may not be opened until the counting officer begins dealing with the ballot papers in those packets under paragraph 48(1).

(4) If, in respect of the constituency poll or the regional poll, none of the ballot papers have been delivered under sub-paragraph (1) by the time the statements as to the result of the verification of the ballot paper accounts in relation to all the polls are prepared—

(a) the ballot papers for that poll must be sealed into packets, each of which must be endorsed with a description of its contents, and

(b) the packets may not be opened until the constituency returning officer begins dealing with the ballot papers in those packets under paragraph 48(3).