Combined Authority and Combined County Authority Returning Officer - role and responsibilities
CAROs are responsible for the overall conduct of the combined authority mayoral election, and for liaising with and co-ordinating the work of local ROs within the combined authority area.
CCAROs are responsible for the overall conduct of the combined authority county mayoral election, and for liaising with and co-ordinating the work of local ROs within the combined county authority area.
As CARO/CCARO you are personally responsible for the following specific aspects of the combined authority mayoral election:
ensuring that candidates and their agents comply with the requirements as to the content of candidate election addresses, and with the procedures for submitting them4
producing and distributing the booklet containing the candidates’ election addresses to every voter5
the collation of local totals and calculation of the result6
You may also take on responsibility for the printing of the combined authority mayoral election ballot papers by giving a direction to the relevant local RO(s).8
You may also direct that the count be held at a central location.9
Issuing directions
You should take any decision to issue such a direction at an early stage in the process, following consultation with the relevant local ROs, in order to provide clarity for all involved and to enable these activities to be planned for and taken forward as appropriate.
You can give general or specific directions to local ROs about the discharge of their functions in relation to combined authority mayoral elections, including directions requiring local ROs to take specified steps in preparing for a combined authority mayoral election and directions requiring them to provide you with information that they have or are entitled to have. 10
Local ROs are required to comply with any direction you have given to them.11
You can give directions that apply to all local ROs, or only to one or some.