Elections Act 2022

Undue influence

8 Undue influence

(1) After section 114 of RPA 1983 insert—

“114A Undue influence

(1) A person is guilty of a corrupt practice if the person is guilty of undue influence.

(2) A person (“P”) is guilty of undue influence if P carries out an activity falling within subsection (4) for the purpose of—

(a) inducing or compelling a person to vote in a particular way or to refrain from voting, or

(b) otherwise impeding or preventing the free exercise of the franchise of an elector or of a proxy for an elector.

(3) A person (“P”) is also guilty of undue influence if P carries out an activity falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (f) of subsection (4) on account of—

(a) a person having voted in a particular way or refrained from voting, or

(b) P assuming a person to have voted in a particular way or to have refrained from voting.

(4) The following activities fall within this subsection—

(a) using or threatening to use violence against a person;

(b) damaging or destroying, or threatening to damage or destroy, a person’s property;

(c) damaging or threatening to damage a person’s reputation;

(d) causing or threatening to cause financial loss to a person;

(e) causing spiritual injury to, or placing undue spiritual pressure on, a person;

(f) doing any other act designed to intimidate a person;

(g) doing any act designed to deceive a person in relation to the administration of an election.

(5) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3) an activity is carried out by a person (“P”) if it is carried out—

(a) by P,

(b) by P jointly with one or more other persons, or

(c) by one or more other persons on behalf of P and with P’s authority or consent.

(6) In subsection (4)(f) and (g) “act” includes an omission (and references to the doing of an act are to be read accordingly).

(7) This section does not have effect in relation to an election in Scotland or Wales under the local government Act.”

(2) In section 115 of RPA 1983 (undue influence)—

(a) in subsection (1), after “influence” insert “in relation to an election in Scotland or Wales under the local government Act”;

(b) in subsection (2), after “influence” insert “in relation to an election in Scotland or Wales under the local government Act”;

(c) in the heading, after “influence” insert “: local government elections in Scotland and Wales”.

(3) Schedule 5 contains further provision relating to this section.