PART 2Exercise of franchise for PCC elections

Offences

Personation17

1

A person is guilty of a corrupt practice if the person commits, or aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of, the offence of personation.

2

A person (“P”) is deemed guilty of personation at a PCC election if P—

a

votes in person or by post as some other person, whether as an elector or as proxy, and whether that other person is living or dead or is a fictitious person, or

b

votes in person or by post as proxy—

i

for a person whom P knows or has reasonable grounds for supposing to be dead or to be a fictitious person, or

ii

when P knows or has reasonable grounds for supposing that P's appointment as proxy is no longer in force.

3

For the purposes of this article, a person who has applied for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person or who has marked, whether validly or not, and returned a ballot paper issued for the purpose of voting by post, is deemed to have voted.

4

Section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 M1 (arrest without warrant: other persons) does not permit a person other than a constable to arrest, inside a polling station, a person who commits or is suspected of committing an offence under the preceding provisions of this article.