Combined Authority and Combined County Authority Returning Officer guidance for Combined Authority Mayoral elections

You should prepare a nomination pack for any person who expresses an interest in standing at the combined authority mayoral election. Information for candidates and agents is available in our guidance.

We have produced a set of nomination papers for standing at a combined authority and combined county authority mayoral elections that contains all the forms needed for nomination. We have produced a separate set of nomination papers for candidates standing where the combined authority or combined county authority mayor will also take on the functions of a Police and Crime Commissioner.1

Combined Authority Mayoral Elections:

Combined County Authority Mayoral Elections:

We have also produced a nominations checklist for CARO/CCAROs which sets out what you will need to consider and specific things to look out for when determining a nomination.

The nomination pack should contain:

• a nomination form
• a home address form
• a consent to nomination form
• a form for the candidate (or someone on their behalf) to give notice of appointment of an election agent
• forms for the election agent to give notice of appointment of sub-agents 
• forms for the candidate or election agent to give notice of appointment of polling agents, postal voting agents and counting agents
• a certificate of authorisation to allow a candidate to stand on behalf of a registered political party
• a form for a candidate standing on behalf of a registered political party to request the use of an emblem
• details of how the deposit should be paid, including acceptable methods of payment
• an explanation of the election address booklet and how candidates may get their election address included in the booklet, which will be sent to all eligible electors in the combined authority area. This should include detail of what the election address booklet is, what the requirements, restrictions and deadlines are, the costs of having an address included in the booklet and how these may be paid
• written guidance for candidates and agents covering key aspects of the electoral process, including the qualifications and disqualifications for election, the nominations process, campaigning dos and don’ts, accessing electoral proceedings and what happens after the declaration of the result 
• contact details for the local ROs
• a copy of the Code of conduct for campaigners in Great Britain which sets out what is, and is not, considered acceptable behaviour at polling stations, when encouraging electors to vote by post or proxy, and in the community. You may identify the need to develop and seek agreement to specific local provisions which supplement the terms of the Code in order to address identified local risks
• details of how to obtain a copy of the electoral register and the lists of absent voters for each local authority in the combined authority area, and forms to make such requests with information on where to send these requests to. You should highlight that the information contained in the electoral register and absent voting lists may only be used in accordance with the Representation of the People Regulations 2001 and in accordance with data protection legislation
• information on the spending limit for candidates at the election and guidance for candidates and agents on spending and donations. Once all the registers that will be in force on the last day for the publication of the notice of election have been published, you should, include in the nomination pack information on the total number of constituent councils together with the total number of local government electors across the combined authority area to help candidates and agents calculate the spending limit
• a form for a candidate to withdraw from the contest if they decide to do so after they have been validly nominated
• information on local arrangements
• any other relevant information