The European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2004

Absent vote at a particular election and absent voters list

9.—(1) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post, or to vote by proxy, at a particular European Parliamentary election, the registration officer shall grant the application (subject to paragraph (7)) if—

(a) he is satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances on the date of the poll will be or are likely to be such that he cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at the polling station allotted or likely to be allotted to him under the European Parliamentary elections rules,

(b) he is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register of electors,

(c) the application states the applicant’s date of birth and the registration officer is satisfied that the date stated corresponds with the date supplied as the date of the applicant’s birth pursuant to section 10(4A)(b), 10A(1A)(b) or 13A(2A)(b) of the 1983 Act,

(d) the application is signed and (unless section 10(4B), 10A(1B) or 13A(2B) of the 1983 Act applies) the registration officer is satisfied that the signature on the application corresponds with the signature supplied as the applicant’s signature pursuant to section 10(4A)(a), 10A(1A)(a) or 13A(2A)(a) of the 1983 Act,

(e) the application either states the applicant’s national insurance number or states that he does not have one, and the registration officer is satisfied as mentioned in paragraph (2), and

(f) the application meets the requirements of Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(e), the registration officer must be satisfied—

(a) if the application states a national insurance number, that the requirements of paragraph (3) are met, or

(b) if the application states that the applicant does not have a national insurance number, that no such number was supplied as his national insurance number pursuant to section 10(4A)(c)(i), 10A(1A)(c)(i) or 13A(2A)(c)(i) of the 1983 Act.

(3) The requirements of this paragraph are met if—

(a) the number stated as mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) is the same as the one supplied as the applicant’s national insurance number pursuant to section 10(4A)(c)(i), 10A(1A)(c)(i) or 13A(2A)(c)(i) of the 1983 Act, or

(b) no national insurance number was supplied under any of those provisions, but the registration officer is not aware of any reason to doubt the authenticity of the application.

(4) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a person who is included in the record kept under regulation 8, but such a person may, in respect of a particular European Parliamentary election, apply to the registration officer—

(a) for his ballot paper to be sent to a different address in the United Kingdom, or

(b) to vote by proxy,

if he is shown in the record so kept as voting by post at European Parliamentary elections.

(5) The registration officer shall grant an application under paragraph (4) if it meets the requirements of Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

(6) The registration officer shall, in respect of each European Parliamentary election, keep a special list (“the absent voters list”) consisting of—

(a) a list of—

(i) those whose applications under paragraph (1) to vote by post at the election have been granted, together with the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent, and

(ii) those who are for the time being shown in the record kept under regulation 8 as voting by post at European Parliamentary elections (excluding those so shown whose applications under paragraph (4) to vote by proxy at the election have been granted) together with the addresses provided by them in their applications under that regulation or, as the case may be, paragraph (4) as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent, and

(b) a list (“the list of proxies”) of those whose applications under this regulation to vote by proxy at the election have been granted or who are for the time being shown in the record kept under regulation 8 as voting by proxy at European Parliamentary elections, together with the names and addresses of those appointed as their proxies.

(7) A person applying to vote by post must provide an address in the United Kingdom as the address to which his ballot paper is to be sent.