The Regional Assembly and Local Government Referendums Order 2004

Opening of ballot paper envelopes

49.—(1) The counting officer shall open separately each ballot paper envelope placed in the receptacle for ballot paper envelopes.

(2) He shall place—

(a) in the final ballot box, any ballot paper which—

(i) bears a ballot number capable of being read; and

(ii) has a ballot number the same as the ballot number on the ballot paper envelope, or where the ballot paper envelope has a window—

(aa) bears the ballot number that showed through the window, and

(bb) any other ballot paper in the same envelope that has the same number as that of the ballot paper mentioned in sub-paragraph (aa);

(b) in the receptacle for rejected votes, having marked it “provisionally rejected”, any other ballot paper which bears a ballot number capable of being read but which is not a cancelled ballot paper; and that ballot paper shall have attached to it the ballot paper envelope;

(c) in the receptacle for rejected votes, any other ballot paper, except for a cancelled ballot paper, which he shall mark “rejected” and to which shall be attached the ballot paper envelope; and

(d) in the receptacle for rejected ballot paper envelopes, any ballot paper envelope which shall be marked “provisionally rejected” which—

(i) does not contain a ballot paper; or

(ii) where there are combined polls, contains a ballot paper for only one of the combined polls, indicating, in such a case, the missing ballot paper.

(3) In the case of a cancelled ballot paper, the counting officer shall—

(a) retrieve the security statement (if any) that relates to the cancelled ballot paper from the receptacle for security statements; and

(b) attach the cancelled ballot paper to the security statement (if any) and place the cancelled ballot paper and any security statement in the receptacle for cancelled ballot papers.

(4) Before placing any ballot paper in a final ballot box under this paragraph, the counting officer shall—

(a) detach the ballot paper from any other document to which it is attached;

(b) where there are combined polls, put the ballot papers into separate piles for each of the referendums to which they relate, except where combined ballot papers are used;

(c) count the number of ballot papers; and

(d) create a statement recording the number of final ballot boxes and the numbers of ballot papers in each.

(5) Before placing a ballot paper and any attached documents in the receptacle for rejected votes or the receptacle for cancelled ballot papers, the counting officer shall show the ballot paper and any attached documents to the referendum agents and receipt agents, and if any of them object to his decision, he shall add the words “rejection objected to”.

(6) The counting officer shall keep the ballot papers face downwards and shall take all proper precautions for preventing any person from seeing the votes made on the ballot papers.