Guidance for Returning Officers administering Local Government Elections in England

There are four situations when the authorised person must reject postal vote(s) that are handed in. 

These reasons are that the individual:

• did not fully complete the postal vote return form (incomplete)1  
• handed in postal votes on behalf of more than the permitted number of electors2  
• is a campaigner not permitted to handle the postal votes3  
• did not complete the postal vote return form (left behind)4  

If any of the above reasons apply to the postal vote(s) handed in, then the authorised person must complete section 3B of the postal vote return form, ticking which of the reasons apply and the number of postal votes to be rejected.

Once rejected, the completed postal vote return form should be attached to the (bundle of) rejected postal vote(s) and placed in the packet for rejected postal votes.5

This packet should be sealed and stored securely until it is delivered to you, along with the packets of accepted postal votes.6   

What if an individual does not want to complete the postal vote return form?

The authorised person should explain to the individual that the postal vote return form must be completed by law and the postal votes cannot be handed in without it. Any postal votes that are left behind without the form being completed will be rejected.7

If the individual insists on leaving the postal vote(s) without completing a form, complete section 3B of the postal vote return form, ticking the ‘did not fully complete the postal vote return form’ option, attach it to the postal vote(s) and place the bundle in the packet for rejected postal votes.

What if an individual wants to hand in postal votes for more than 5 other people

Individuals are only allowed to hand in their own postal vote and postal votes for up to 5 other people.

The individual should determine which postal votes they wish to submit. They may leave the council office to make the decision.

The individual can hand in the permitted number of postal votes and leave the council office with the remaining postal votes.

If the individual insists on handing in postal votes for more than 5 other people, all the postal votes for the other people must be rejected.  Only the individual’s own postal vote can be accepted. 

In this situation, the postal vote return form must be completed with the following information:

• in sections 1 and 2, the details of the individual and the postal vote to be handed in (if they are returning their own postal vote)
• in section 3, that the individual’s postal vote has been accepted (part 3A and part 3B), and the number and the reason for rejection of the other postal votes (part 3B)

The completed postal vote return form must be attached to the rejected postal votes and kept in the packet for rejected postal votes.  

The accepted postal vote can be placed in the packet for accepted postal votes.

The individual should not be assisted in determining which postal vote is their own.

What if an individual is not sure if they are a political campaigner? 

A political campaigner is defined within this legislation as a person who is either:8

• a candidate at the election;
• an election agent of a candidate at the election;
• a sub-agent of an election agent at the election;
• employed or engaged by a person who is a candidate at the election for the purposes of that person’s activities as a candidate;
• a member of a registered political party and carries on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election;
• employed or engaged by a registered political party in connection with the party’s political activities;
• employed or engaged by a person listed above, to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election;
• employed or engaged by a person within paragraph above to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election and includes candidates, agents and party workers  

Advise should not be given as to whether someone meets this definition.  The individual can be shown the definition of a political campaigner, which is set out on the reverse of the postal vote return form, to help them determine whether they can hand in the postal vote(s).

If they are still unsure, having read the definition on the form, they should seek their own legal advice. 

What if the individual advises that they are a political campaigner (and are handing in postal votes for people who are not close relatives or people for whom they provide care)?

The campaigner should be advised that they are not allowed to hand in postal votes unless it is their own, or they are handing in postal votes for close relatives or people for whom they provide care.

If they have indicated that all of the postal votes do not belong to close relatives or someone for whom they provide care, and they insist that they want to hand them in, the authorised person should advise them that: 

• it is an offence for political campaigners to handle postal votes which are not their own, those of close relatives or those of someone for whom they provide care
• any postal votes that are handed in which belong to other people except those set out above will be rejected 
• the Returning Officer will notify the police where they suspect an offence has been committed

The political campaigner should be asked to hand over the postal votes.  Details of the rejected postal votes must be recorded in section 3 of the form and attached to the rejected postal votes.

If the political campaigner refuses to hand over the postal votes and leaves the building, the authorised person should record the details and inform the Returning Officer.  

What to do if an individual leaves postal votes in the council offices without completing the form?

If postal votes have been left in the council council offices, the authorised person must reject the left behind postal vote(s)9  and record the details of the postal vote(s) in section 3B of the postal vote return form. The authorised person must write their name on the postal vote return form and attach it to the left behind postal vote(s).  In this situation, the postal votes are rejected as ‘did not complete a postal return form’ (left behind).