The Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2002

Delivery of documents to the sheriff clerk

68.—(1) The constituency returning officer shall then forward to–

(a) the sheriff clerk of the sheriff court district comprising the constituency; or

(b) if the constituency comprises the whole or part of more sheriff court districts than one, the sheriff clerk of any one of those sheriff court districts,

the following documents–

(c) the packets of constituency ballot papers in his possession;

(d) the packets of regional ballot papers in his possession;

(e) the ballot paper accounts and the statements of rejected ballot papers and of the result of the verification of the ballot paper accounts;

(f) the tendered votes lists, the lists of voters with disabilities assisted by companions, the lists of votes marked by the presiding officer and the related statements, and the declarations made by the companions of voters with disabilities;

(g) the packets of counterfoils and certificates as to employment on duty on the day of the poll; and

(h) the packets containing marked copies of registers and of lists of proxies,

endorsing on each packet–

(i) a description of its contents;

(ii) the date of the election to which they relate; and

(iii) the name of the constituency in which the votes were given.

(2) The constituency returning officer may forward the documents either by delivering them by himself or his agent to the sheriff clerk or by sending them by post.

(3) If he sends them by post–

(a) he shall deliver the documents to the officer designated by the universal postal service provider concerned or his deputy for the constituency;

(b) the designated official or his deputy shall–

(i) give a receipt in respect of those documents to the constituency returning officer; and

(ii) send the documents to the sheriff clerk by the first post free of charge,

(c) he shall send a letter to the sheriff clerk by the same post, specifying the number and description of the documents so sent; and

(d) a copy of the receipt given to him by the designated official or his deputy shall be signed by him and retained by the designated official or his deputy.

(4) On receipt of the documents by the sheriff clerk a receipt shall be given to the person delivering them, and the receipt of those documents shall be registered in books kept for the purpose by the sheriff clerk specifying the date and time of receipt.

(5) Any receipt to be given for the documents shall show the date and time of their receipt.