2021 No. 436
Representation Of The People

The Representation of the People (Postal Voting for Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021

Made
Coming into force
The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 53(1)(c) and (3) and 201(3), and schedule 2 of the Representation of the People Act 19831 and all other powers enabling them to do so.
In accordance with section 201(2) of that Act2, a draft of these Regulations has been laid before and approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament.

Citation, commencement and transitional provision1.

(1)

These Regulations may be cited as the Representation of the People (Postal Voting for Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021.

(2)

These Regulations come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

(3)

The amendments made by these Regulations do not apply in relation to an election for which the date of the poll is on or before 4 May 2022.

Amendment of the Representation of the People (Postal Voting for Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Regulations 20072.

(1)

The Representation of the People (Postal Voting for Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Regulations 20073 are amended as follows.

(2)

In regulation 15(3) (spoilt postal ballot papers), for “5 p.m.” substitute “10 p.m.”.

(3)

In regulation 16 (lost postal ballot papers)4—

(a)

in paragraph (2), for “5pm” substitute “10 p.m.”,

(b)

in paragraph (6), for “5 p.m.” substitute “10 p.m.”.

GEORGE ADAM
Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Representation of the People (Postal Voting for Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Regulations 2007. Regulation 2(2) changes the time limit on the day of the poll by which voters utilising a postal vote for local government elections may request a replacement of a spoilt ballot paper. Regulation 2(3) changes the time limit on the day of the poll by which voters utilising a postal vote for such elections may request a replacement for a lost ballot paper. The time limits are changed from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. This standardises practice with Scottish Parliament election procedure.