Guidance for Returning Officers administering Local Government Elections in England

You should ensure that any person you authorise to act on your behalf to deliver to you any postal votes that have been handed in, should be given training on:

• the procedure to follow for postal votes being handed in
• how to assist individuals to complete the return of postal vote return form. 

The normal procedure for the authorised person to follow for postal votes being handed in is as follows:

Stage 1 – advise the individual that they will need to provide some details to return the postal votes

Explain that the postal vote return form must be completed correctly otherwise the postal votes will be rejected. 

Stage 2 –Completion of section 1 of the postal vote return form

The following information must be recorded in section 1:

• whether the individual is handing in their own postal vote (completing the Yes or No box as appropriate on the form)
• whether the individual is handing in postal votes for any other people, and if so, how many 
  • individuals can hand in postal votes for up to 5 other people 
• whether the individual is a political campaigner 
  • political campaigners can hand in postal votes for up to 5 other people as long as they are close relatives or people for whom they provide regular care

If the individual: 

• is handing in no more than the permitted number of postal votes 
• has confirmed that they are not a political campaigner or 
• has confirmed that they are a political campaigner but are handing in postal votes for close relatives or people for whom they provide regular care: 
  • the relevant boxes on the form must be completed and the total number of postal votes to be handed in recorded on the form
     

Stage 3 – Completion of section 2 of the postal vote handing in form

Ask the individual to check that the information provided in section 1 is correct and to complete the following fields of section 2:

• their name
• their address
• (if applicable) the reason for handing in postal votes for other people

The individual must read and complete the declaration, confirming that:

• they have not handed in more than the permitted number of postal votes
• they are not a political campaigner, or 
• they are a political campaigner and have only handed in their own postal vote and/or that of a close relative, or someone for whom they provide regular care

The individual must then sign and date the form.

Stage 4 – Completion of section 3 of the postal vote return form

The authorised person must complete section 3. Check that sections 1 and 2 have been completed correctly.

If satisfied that:

• the postal vote return form has been completed correctly with the required information
• the individual has only handed in as many postal votes as they are entitled to, and
• the individual is not a political campaigner, or is a political campaigner who has only submitted their own postal vote and/or postal votes of close relatives or people for whom they provide regular care

complete section 3A of the form to confirm this and accept the postal votes

Stage 5 – thank the individual and confirm that the postal votes have been accepted and will be forwarded to the Returning Officer

Stage 6 – Puts accepted postal votes in packet for accepted postal votes

Once accepted, place the postal vote(s) unopened, in the packet provided. 

The packet must be kept secure at all times. It must be delivered to the Returning Officer in accordance with their instructions. 

Stage 7 – Put completed postal vote return form in appropriate packet

The completed postal vote return form should be kept separately from the packet containing the accepted postal votes and delivered to the Returning Officer.