The National Assembly for Wales Referendum (Assembly Act Provisions) (Referendum Question, Date of Referendum Etc.) Order 2010

Postal voting statements: additional personal identifier verification

21.—(1) The counting officer may on any occasion at which a postal voters’ ballot box is opened in accordance with paragraph 16 undertake verification of the personal identifiers on any postal voting statement that has on a prior occasion been placed in the receptacle for postal voting statements.

(2) Where the counting officer undertakes additional verification of personal identifiers, the counting officer must—

(a) remove as many postal voting statements from the receptacle for postal voting statements as the counting officer wishes to subject to additional verification; and

(b) compare the date of birth and the signature on each such postal voting statement against the date of birth and signature contained in the relevant personal identifiers record relating to the person to whom the postal ballot paper was addressed.

(3) Where the counting officer is no longer satisfied that the postal voting statement has been duly completed the counting officer must mark the statement “rejected”, and before placing the postal voting statement in the receptacle for rejected votes (verification procedure) the counting officer must—

(a) show it to the agents and must permit them to view the entries in the relevant personal identifiers record which relate to the person to whom the postal ballot paper was addressed, and if any of them object to the counting officer’s decision, the counting officer must add the words “rejection objected to”;

(b) open any postal ballot box and retrieve the ballot paper corresponding to the ballot paper on the postal voting statement;

(c) show the ballot paper number on the retrieved ballot paper to the agents; and

(d) attach the ballot paper to the postal voting statement.

(4) Following the removal of a postal ballot paper from a postal ballot box the counting officer must reseal the postal ballot box in the presence of the agents.