The following guidance has been produced to support Combined Authority Returning Officers and Combined County Returning Officers (CAROs/CCAROs) in planning for and delivering a combined authority mayoral election or combined county authority mayoral election respectively in England.

For the purpose of combined county authority mayoral elections, references in this guidance to combined authorities should therefore, unless specifically indicated otherwise, be read as references to combined county authorities. 

It has been developed in close consultation with the UK Electoral Coordination and Advisory Board (ECAB), the Elections, Registration and Referendums Working Group (ERRWG) and the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA). It reflects the CARO’s/CCARO's legal obligations and what we, the ECAB, the ERRWG and the AEA believe that CAROs/CCAROs should expect of their staff in preparing for and delivering CAM/CCAM elections.

Performance Standards

In addition to our role in providing advice and guidance, we set standards and monitor the performance of ROs through our performance standards framework.

Our guidance to support the delivery of your functions includes what we expect CARO/CCAROs will need to have in place and what we would expect to see for the key outcomes of the standards to be delivered.

The performance standards framework and guidance for local ROs should be used to inform your work to monitor and support local ROs in your area.

For more information on the framework see our performance standards guidance for ROs.

How to use this guidance

This guidance is directed toward the CARO/CCARO and the duties they carry out. As these duties may, in practice, be carried out by deputies and/or appointed staff, we use the term ‘you’ throughout this guidance to mean the CARO/CCARO and whoever is carrying out the CARO’s/CCARO's functions on their behalf.

Throughout this guidance we use ‘must’ to refer to a specific legal requirement and ‘may / should’ for recommended practice.  

You should liaise with stakeholders, particularly local Returning Officers (ROs) across the combined authority  to inform your planning to ensure consistency across the combined authority area. 

This guidance covers your roles and responsibilities as CARO/CCARO, the particular context and circumstances of combined authority elections, planning for the election, and highlights aspects of the election process where early preparations can be undertaken.

It also covers specific parts of the elections process that you are responsible for delivering, including:  

• the nominations process
• candidates’ election addresses
• administering the poll
• verifying and counting the votes, result collation and the declaration of the result
• after the declaration of the result

Where the guidance is different for combined polls the information will be contained in an expanding section. This means that next to the relevant heading there is an icon with a + which will expand to show the relevant guidance.

To help you use this guidance we have produced a Q&A document that should answer any initial queries you may have.

This guidance does not cover your role and responsibilities as any other Returning Officer or Counting Officer. You can find guidance for Returning Officers administering local elections in England on the relevant pages of the Commission’s website. 

This guidance is supplemented by resources which can be accessed through links contained in the guidance. 

Should you have any questions about our guidance or any other matter relating to the administration of elections, our local Commission teams are available to provide on-going support. We also provide an out-of-hours advice service to deal with urgent electoral administration queries in the run up to and immediately following any scheduled elections. Further information on the provision of our out-of-hours service will be provided through our Bulletin for electoral administrators.

This section of the guidance covers the appointment of the Combined Authority Returning Officer (CARO) and Combined County Authority Returning Officer (CCARO) as well as the roles and responsibilities for those appointed to this post. It provides a detailed list of the relevant legislation that the guidance has been written to reflect, and which a CARO/CCARO should be familiar with. 

It also contains guidance on the consequences of the breach of official duty and the legislative powers available to the CARO/CCARO to use in certain circumstances.  

Finally, this section also contains guidance on the skills and knowledge that is expected to be required of a CARO/CCARO. 

This guidance is based on, and should be read in accordance with, the requirements set out in the following legislation (as amended):

• Representation of the People Acts 1983, 1985 and 2000
• Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
• Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001
• Electoral Administration Act 2006
• Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009
• Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (applicable only where the Combined [County] Authority Mayor take on the PCC functions)
• Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
• The Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) Order 2017
• The Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) Amendment Order 2022
• The Elections Act 2022
• Voter Identification Regulations 2022
• The Assistance with Voting for Persons with Disabilities (Amendments) Regulations 2022
• Representation of the People (Postal and Proxy Voting etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023
• The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023
• The Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) Order 2017 (Amendment) Regulations 2024

Where the poll at a combined authority mayoral election has been combined with the poll at a local election, you will also need to have regard to the following (as amended):

• Local Government Acts of 1972 and 2000
• Representation of the People (Combination of Polls) (England and Wales) Regulations 2004
• Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006
• Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) (England and Wales) Rules 2006
• Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007

The list above includes only the legislation that makes provision in areas that this guidance relates to and the legislation that is currently in force. 

Data protection legislation applies to the processing of all personal data. CARO/CCAROs are personally responsible for ensuring that they comply with the requirements of data protection legislation. We have published guidance to support you in meeting your obligations under data protection legislation as it relates to your electoral administration responsibilities.

You are also required to have regard to the public sector equality duty contained in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 when carrying out your duties.

Terminology

In this guidance we use the term ‘local Returning Officer’ or ‘local RO’ to refer to the local government Returning Officer for a constituent council of the combined authority or combined county authority area who will be responsible for administering the election at a local level. 

A constituent council at a combined authority mayoral election

A constituent council at a combined authority mayoral election is defined as either a county council for an area within the area of the combined authority or a district council whose area is within the area of the combined authority.1

In areas where there is both a county council and a district council, the election will be administered at district level and the local RO will be RO for the district.3

A constituent council at a combined county authority mayoral election

A constituent council at a combined county authority mayoral election is defined as either a county council for an area within the combined county authority area or a unitary district council for an area within the combined county authority area.2

In areas where there is a county council or a unitary district council, the election will be administered at council level and the local RO will be RO for the council.3

In areas where there is both a county council and a unitary district council, the election will be administered at district level and the local RO will be RO for the district.4

Combined Authority Returning Officer

Each combined authority must appoint one of its officers, or one of the officers of a constituent council, to be the Combined Authority Returning Officer (CARO) in relation to the election.1

Each constituent council must appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO for the combined authority mayoral election. Where both a district council and a county council are constituent councils for the same area of the combined authority, the requirement to appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO only applies to the district council.2  

Combined County Authority Returning Officer

Each combined county authority must appoint one of its officers, or one of the officers of a constituent council, to be the Combined County Authority Returning Officer (CCARO) in relation to the election.3

Each constituent council must appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO for the combined county authority mayoral election. 

In areas where there is a county council or a unitary district council, the requirement to appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO only applies to the council.4

In areas where there is both a county council and a unitary district council, the requirement to appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO only applies to the district council.5

Insurance and indemnity

You should ensure that you have appropriate insurance cover and be prepared to demonstrate robust planning and decision-making processes in the event of any challenge to the election and a claim against this cover.

The team at your council dealing with insurance may be able to help determine what existing cover is in place and available, and to provide advice as to whether it should be extended.

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:

• giving notice of the election1  
• the nomination procedures2  
• encouraging participation3  
• 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  
• the declaration of the result7  

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.

The Electoral Registration Officer is responsible for maintaining the register of electors and lists of absent voters for their local authority area1 and is normally a senior officer in the local authority and may also be the Returning Officer.

Local Returning Officer

Full detail of the responsibilities of an RO at local elections are available in our guidance for Returning Officers at local elections. Local ROs are responsible for running the combined authority mayoral election and combined county authority elections at a local level. 

At Combined Authority Mayoral elections, each constituent council must appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO. Where both a district council and a county council are constituent councils for the same area of the combined authority, the requirement to appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO only applies to the district council.2

At Combined County Authority Mayoral elections, each constituent council must appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO. In areas where there is a county council or a unitary district council, the requirement to appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO only applies to the council.3  In areas where there is both a county council and a unitary district council, the requirement to appoint an officer of the council to be the local RO only applies to the district council.4

Where the combined authority or combined county authority mayoral election is not combined with any other poll, the local RO will be personally responsible for the conduct of the poll, including the provision of polling stations,5  the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers6 and the verification and counting of the votes in their area.7

Where the combined authority mayoral election is combined with the poll at another election, the relevant RO will take on the combined functions. For example, where the combined authority election is combined with a district election, it will be the RO for the district election who will take on the combined functions. In practice, this will be the same person as the local RO.

There are combined functions which will be the personal responsibility of the relevant RO in their area. These functions are:

• the provision of polling stations6  
• appointing and training of Presiding Officers and Poll Clerks7  
• conducting the poll
• the notice of situation of polling stations8  
• providing the equipment of polling stations9  
• the notification of the secrecy requirements at polling stations10  
• signing certificates of employment for polling station staff allowing them to vote at the polling station they are working at, as opposed to the one allocated to them11  
• authorising the order to remove persons from polling stations12  
• verifying all ballot papers13   
• where it has been decided to combine the issue of postal votes:
  • maintaining the corresponding number list
  • issuing postal votes, including creating a copy of the postal voters list and proxy postal voters list and marking it on issue
  • opening postal votes, including marking the returned postal vote statements on the lists and verifying the personal identifiers on the returned postal voting statements14  

Local ROs must also consider the accessibility for voters at polling stations. Our guidance on assistance with voting for disabled people provides further information.  

As CARO/CCARO you are subject to breach of official duty provisions. This means that if you or your appointed deputies are, without reasonable cause, guilty of any act or omission in breach of official duty you (and/or they) are liable on summary conviction to an unlimited fine.

You have the power to take such steps as you think appropriate to remedy acts or omissions that arise in connection with any function of the elections and that are not in accordance with the rules.1  

This power allows you to correct procedural errors that you as CARO/CCARO, or a local RO, an Electoral Registration Officer, a Presiding Officer or a person providing goods or services to you (or any deputies of any of these) make. Local ROs have the same power to correct procedural errors2  and you should ensure that they consult you before exercising this power.

A procedural error refers to an error someone has made during the process of planning or delivering the election, which may affect the election process or result. For example, incorrect information being produced on poll cards or ballot papers, or postal or polling station ballot papers being issued in error or not issued when they should have been. The above examples are not exhaustive and you should contact your local Commission team for support and advice if you think you may have made a mistake that could be corrected using this power.

Where you or a local RO use the power to correct procedural errors for the combined authority mayoral election, you should ensure that the error and corrective action taken is explained to those affected including, where applicable, voters and candidates and agents. You should ensure that you keep a record of: 

• any errors identified including what the error was and how it occurred
• the impact of the error
• any advice you or the local RO received (including legal advice)
• what measures were taken to correct the error, and how these were communicated

Where you remedy an act or omission in full by using this power, you will not be guilty of an offence of breach of official duty. You should remember that the power to correct procedural errors does not enable the votes to be recounted once the result has been declared.3
 

In addition to your legal duties, you are also responsible for providing leadership and co-ordinating the work of local Returning Officers to ensure that the election is well-run and that voters and those standing for election receive a consistently high-quality service across the whole of the combined authority area.

You should ensure that you have a clear understanding of your statutory functions and a working knowledge of the relevant legislation. 

In order to understand your role as CARO/CCARO and to deliver effective administration of the polls across your combined authority you will need to understand the management structure in place for administering the polls across your combined authority area, alongside any particular challenges within the area. You should decide on your approach to ensure that the polls are administered consistently by, and in consultation with, the relevant local ROs.

Some of the things that you should consider at an early stage are:

• whether you will direct that you will print the ballot papers to be used at the election
• whether you will direct that the verification of ballot papers and/or the counting of the votes is to take place at a central location
• in the instance of a decentralised verification and/or count, what protocols will be put in place for the two-way communication of verification and count totals between you and local ROs, including the communication of local count totals and second count
• how you will ensure consistency and monitor the delivery of the election across the whole of the combined authority area
• what your plans are for communicating any directions and guidance are to local ROs
• that any guidance or directions that you issue as CARO/CCARO are compatible with our own guidance and the RO performance standards framework - if you are in any doubt you should contact us at the earliest opportunity to discuss your concerns.
• the appointment of deputies, including the number required and what duties your appointed deputies will discharge 
• the process for correcting any procedural errors made, both by you as CARO/CCARO and by local ROs
• that arrangements have been made to ensure that you have appropriate insurance cover in place.
   

A Combined Authority Mayoral election is a significant event which brings with it its own particular challenges. Having robust plans in place are crucial to ensure you are able to deliver a well-run election.
 
This section of the guidance covers the planning you will need to do to support the coordination and delivery of the election, including the elements of the process you will need to liaise with your local ROs about, project planning and implementation considerations. 

This section also contains guidance on identifying, monitoring and mitigating risk and developing plans to ensure the integrity of the election is maintained. 

Finally, it provides guidance on how you will need to plan for your public awareness activity to promote both voter registration and provide information to support electors voting, and engagement with candidates and agents. 

To help you meet any challenges, you will need to set up processes for effective co-operation and communication between the different ROs in your combined authority area.

You will also need to put in place detailed and robust plans for monitoring and maintaining integrity across the combined authority area.

There are several key points you should consider during your plans for these polls, including:

• whether you have scheduled combined polls in your combined authority area, and what the scale of this combination would be
• the potential for any by-elections to be combined with the combined authority mayoral election
• turnout projections and how this impacts on all stages of your election planning
• the knowledge and experience among local ROs in your area and the processes involved at this type of election
• the content and dispatch of the election address booklet which contains the candidates’ campaign statements, and how to consider the delivery of this booklet against the first issue of postal votes
• the knowledge and experience of candidates and agents, with the potential for a significant number of newer or less experienced candidates and the potential for more queries than you may be used to answering at other elections 
• any changes to the political landscape across all of or in parts of the combined authority area and any impact this may have
• significant scrutiny from voters, candidates and the media and how you manage the expectations of any stakeholders with an interest in the result

These elections will bring their own particular challenges, and your work to deliver a well-run combined authority mayoral election may come under considerable scrutiny – from voters, candidates and the media.

You should consider and learn lessons from experiences at all other recent polls in your area.

Nature of a Combined Authority Mayoral election

The elections will involve co-ordination across a number of local authority areas including a coordinated public engagement strategy.  

The evolving political landscape could also mean that even in places where there have traditionally been large majorities in other contests, this may no longer be the case, meaning the focus and circumstances could be different from anything experienced in your area before.

Given the possibility of close and hard-fought contests, you should be prepared for the integrity of the election to be scrutinised. Allegations and cases of electoral fraud will not only have a negative impact on the confidence of electors and campaigners, but they may also have a significant impact on your capacity to manage the election process effectively. It is therefore crucial that you put in place detailed and robust plans for monitoring and maintaining the integrity of the elections in your area. You should work closely with the local police, ensuring you have in place good lines of communication for referring any allegations.

Scale and turnout

Many aspects of planning for the elections will need to reflect assumptions as to the likely turnout. Establishing such assumptions at an early stage in planning is of key importance as the scope for adjusting plans is limited at a later stage in the process. There are always challenges with developing such planning assumptions, with it often being difficult to predict in advance of the election period what the levels of engagement in a particular election are likely to be. 

Given the potential for high levels of interest and engagement in the elections, some of which may not emerge until close to the polls, you should consider the potential for a high turnout in all aspects of planning for the polls. 

As the polls become closer, the context will continue to evolve as the campaigns pick up pace. You will need to be prepared to react to events which could have an impact on the effective delivery of the election, and this will include having robust contingency plans in place that you can turn to where required. 

At any election, there is the potential for a high number of applications for registration and Voter Authority Certificates to be made close to the deadline for the elections. This should be anticipated and built into planning, reflecting lessons learnt from the experience of recent electoral events, especially in the context of poll card or postal vote dispatch or volumes of ballot papers. 

The media focus on the verification, count and declaration of results could be significant. It will be important to manage expectations, not only of the media but of all stakeholders with an interest in the results, by consulting on your proposed approach and subsequently communicating clearly what you expect to deliver and by when, particularly where combination will impact on your expected result declaration times. 

There are a range of factors which will impact on how the verification and counting of votes will be managed – the size, population, geography and demographics of the combined authority area, and the scale of combination (if any), will all have an impact on the available options for managing this part of the process. This re enforces the need for early engagement and consultation on how this will be managed.

In particular, turnout will impact planning for the verification and count, with it being vital that appropriate provision is made to ensure that verification and count processes are as accurate and efficient as possible. You will need to co-ordinate the timing and organisation of verification and counting to ensure that they are carried out in a timely and effective way across the combined authority area.

Before you start planning for the election, you should ensure that you have carried out a review of the last equivalent or similar polls. Especially those with an element of regional management.

If you have not delivered a poll with an element of regional co-ordination previously, you should consider how you can learn from the experiences of others who have carried out such a role.

You should have:

• carried out a thorough evaluation of all processes outlined in your project plan for the previous election, 
• sought feedback from appropriate stakeholders, 
• produced a lessons learnt document to inform the project plan and risk register for future electoral events 

You can find further information in our guidance on Reviewing the election.   

The Commission has provided, as part of the template project plan, some sample objectives and suggested tools that will allow you to measure the extent to which the conduct of the election has been successful. The Commission has also provided an evaluation plan as part of the template project plan to assist you with the review process.

You should prepare a project plan and a risk register, treating each as a ‘living document’ and use them to both monitor progress and manage risks. You should use these documents to:

• set out what you want to achieve, and how you will measure success
• evaluate the planning and delivery of any previous polls, and use your findings to inform your planning
• liaise and seek input from local ROs in your area in developing your risk register and ensure that they are aware of any risks you have identified, as well as any mitigations
• set up a project team
• set up a communications plan to support consistency in the delivery of the election across the combined authority area
• establish a schedule of regular meetings with local ROs
• cover how you will co-ordinate any public awareness activity across the combined authority area
• establish a communications network involving a representative of each local RO to help share information and co-ordinate activity
• ensure where possible that any communication activity is co-ordinated with any national activity and any Commission registration activity or campaigning feeds into your plans
• ensure stakeholder communication is embedded throughout your planning, with particular arrangements in place for working with local or national media

The key objective of implementing project and risk management processes is to ensure that adequate preparations are made in advance of the poll, with risks identified and properly managed, so that the poll can be delivered effectively. You should set out at an early stage what you want to achieve and what success would look like for you, and this should be reflected in the objectives and success measures set out in your project plan. You should work with local ROs in developing these objectives and success measures and ensure that they also reflect these in their own plans.

Project plan

You should prepare a project plan in relation to your functions as CARO/CCARO and keep it under regular review and use it to monitor progress. If you are also a local RO, you may choose to integrate some or all of this into your wider election planning documentation. 

Your planning should ensure that: 

• voters are able to vote easily and know that their vote will be counted in the way they intended. 
• it is easy for people who want to stand for election to find out how to get involved, what the rules are, and what they have to do to comply with these rules
• everyone can have confidence to participate safely in the electoral process
• everyone can have confidence in the management of the process and the result. 

We have produced a template project plan that you may wish to use and adapt to fit your local circumstances. The template includes a number of example deliverables and tasks and you should also add in any others you identify as necessary, including ones specific to the circumstances in your combined authority area.

Before starting your detailed planning, you should set out what you want to achieve and what success would look like. Your project plan should include clearly defined objectives and success measures. 

Your project plan should cover contingency planning and business continuity arrangements. The continuity arrangements should include provisions to cover loss of staff and loss of venues during the election period.

You should ensure that your plan covers the potential for the combined authority mayoral election to be combined with unscheduled elections in parts or all of the combined authority area.

Your project plan should also identify the resources and staffing required. You should take all necessary steps to ensure that the local authority makes the necessary resources available to you to enable you to discharge your functions. 

Risk register

You should prepare a risk register which should also be a living document and kept under regular review, especially at key points in the process when you have more information about the context of the election, such as at the close of nominatons and the registration deadline. You should use your risk register to monitor the risks and document any changes in risk, as well as ensuring that mitigating actions are identified and are being taken forward, including by local ROs where appropriate. 

Your risk register should identify:

• any difficulties and problems that may occur, and the actions taken to mitigate them.
• the seriousness of any risk by indicating both the likelihood of the risk occurring and the impact of the risk if it did occur. 

Your risk register should consider risk and risk management in relation to your functions as CARO/CCARO, plus any key risks relevant to the administration of the poll across the combined authority area. 

In developing your risk register you should ensure that you liaise with and seek input from local ROs as necessary, and that they are aware of any risks you identify that may directly affect the election in their local area, as well as any mitigating actions for which they are responsible. 

We have developed a template risk register that you may wish to use. The template provides some example risks and suggestions for mitigating those risks. In addition to the risks identified in the template you should also identify any other risks, including ones specific to your combined authority area, and how you would mitigate those.

Security

Your project plan should include a review of security arrangements for electoral processes and those participating with the local police. You should also consider any security risks as part of your contingency planning exercise and include these in your risk register.

If you are printing the ballot papers yourself, your security arrangements should prevent unauthorised access to or use of the ballot papers during all stages of the production process and storage between printing and delivery to local ROs.

We have published a non-date specific timetable for by-elections containing the statutory deadlines as set out in the election rules, which can be used to assist you in your planning.

A date-specific timetable will be available on our website ahead of scheduled polls.

You should ensure that you have contingency arrangements in place to enable you to respond and deliver a well-run election should a by-election arise. Once an election has been called you will need to review your plans and develop arrangements for the specific context and timetable of the poll.

Your overarching project plan should cover contingency planning and business continuity arrangements. This should link into the local ROs plans to enable all elements of the delivery of the election to continue in the event of any unexpected issues or disruptions, including the impact of any unscheduled polls and by-elections that may occur.
 
It is important to keep your contingency plans under review and to re-visit and amend them periodically during the run up to the poll. In doing so, you should consider the success and continuing appropriateness of any existing measures, identify any improvements and expose any gaps. 

Your contingency planning should include arrangements for the key areas of risk to the delivery of the election including:

Contractors

You should ensure that any suppliers that you or your local ROs in your combined authority area use – such as EMS providers and any external print providers – have their own detailed business continuity plans in place. You should be satisfied that their contingency arrangements are sufficient to enable you to perform your duties in the case of any interruptions in service whilst fulfilling their own contractual duties. For more information see our guidance on Managing the procurement process for outsourced work.

Venues

You and your local ROs should prepare a list of alternative venues that are available at short notice for each stage of the elections process and brief staff on the contingency arrangements for using these venues that may affect their role. For more information, see our guidance Identify and book suitable venues and Last minute changes to polling stations.

Staffing

You should monitor staffing levels across the combined authority area, identifying solutions to enable you to respond if a sudden staffing shortage arose in one or more areas due to unavailability of recruited staff or an unexpected increase demand or workload. 

You should liaise with your HR department who can use their expertise to assist you with your planning. Neighbouring authorities with reciprocal agreements in place may also be able to offer additional support in managing any requirements for temporary staff for specific parts of the electoral process. For more information see our guidance on Allocating sufficient staff resources and providing training.

IT

IT plays a key role in many of the processes required to run the election. You should liaise with your IT services to ensure that you have adequate resources and contingency measures in place to allow you to perform your functions in the event of IT failure. This could include:

• improving any measures allowing remote working capabilities 
• having dedicated IT support during the election period
• storing certain files and documents locally to enable them to be accessed more easily
• sourcing any spare or alternative equipment that could be used as a backup, e.g. printers, laptops, routers.
• testing any communication links used for the verification, count and result collation process, including contingency processes should IT systems fail.

Security of electoral administration

Security risks should also be considered as part of your contingency arrangements, setting out how you will continue to deliver the election in the event of theft, fraudulent activity, or any other security risk as identified in your risk register. You should liaise with the police and business continuity experts from your council to identify risks and put appropriate continuity measures in place.

Additionally, you should work with your IT services to understand what preventative measures are in place for your council to protect against cyber-threats, such as ransomware attacks. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) advises that examples of preventative measures could include:

• using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
• investing in vulnerability management 
• having offline backups 
• having a tested recovery plan in place 

A White Paper on ransomware has been published from the NCSC and the National Crime Agency (NCA). The NCSC has also produced this guidance to help you assess the risks associated with IT and cyber-threats.

Security of those participating

You should consider your plans to maintain the security of all those involved in each stage of the election, including your staff, candidates, agents and their campaigners. You should liaise with local ROs and the relevant police single point of contact (SPOC) and force elected-official adviser (FEOA) as appropriate to identify local risks and put appropriate measures in place. For more information see our guidance for Returning Officers at local elections on working with your local police force, security considerations at electoral events and how to manage attendees at the count. 

Additional security guidance for elections for Returning Officers, candidates and agents is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-guidance-for-may-2021-elections. 

Your project plan should include details on how you will deliver the key processes, including nominations, administration of the election address process and publication of the booklet and coordination of the verification, count and result collation. 

Establishing realistic and robust assumptions can assist you in planning for delivering these key processes. Sound assumptions can provide useful evidence in explaining your decisions and you should therefore document them. Sharing the assumptions with stakeholders at an early stage will also allow them to be tested by others for robustness before the detailed planning has been completed and will help build confidence in your plans. 

Your planning should include assumptions on expected:

• turnout on polling day
• turnout of postal voters
• number of candidates 
• availability of staff
• speed and capability of staff
• timings for completing each process

All plans and assumptions should be kept under regular review, and especially at key points of the process such as at the close of nominations, where risks may change depending on the context of the election, and which may impact on your planning assumptions. This will help inform a realistic assessment of whether you will be able to deliver the overall plan, and whether and when it may be necessary to implement contingency plans. In all cases your plan should be flexible enough to allow you to respond if any of your assumptions change, covering what contingency actions you will take in such circumstances, and you should communicate with stakeholders throughout your planning process and be prepared to explain the reasons for the decisions you are taking. For key decisions, you should provide your reasons to stakeholders in writing.

Turnout

The expected turnout is a crucial factor in you and the local ROs determining the planning and understanding what resources will be needed for most processes and how this will work in a coordinated way across the area in particular for coordination of the verification, count and result collation. You should decide what the expected turnout is likely to be - taking into account the potential for late engagement and interest in the elections by which point scope for adjusting plans will be limited. 

Your turnout estimate should be based on the assumption that, as a minimum, the turnout of voters will be not less than the turnout at the last equivalent polls. 

It is always safest to err on the side of caution when it comes to turnout as national and local developments can result in rapid changes to the actual turnout.

The resources you and the local ROs in your combined authority area have available to conduct these processes, including numbers of staff and size of venue, will also be a relevant consideration to your planning. 

The number of parties and/or candidates

The number of parties and/or candidates standing at an election will also affect your planning considerations. For example, a large number of parties and/or candidates standing for election could mean that: 

• ballot papers will be large and staff and voters may be slower handling them
• more space will be required to accommodate the large ballot papers
• the counting process for separating the votes into bundles for particular parties and/or candidates may be slower and take up more space
• more space for candidates and agents may be required at the venues

In order to establish the likely number of parties and/or candidates you should:

• make early contact with the political parties
• monitor expressions of interest
• monitor requests for nomination packs 

This information can then be taken into account when taking decisions on venues, count layout, necessary equipment and staffing requirements to ensure the safe and secure delivery of the election.

You should review your planning assumptions once you know the details of all the candidates standing in your area, to ensure that they are still suitable or if any amendments are needed to ensure that polling day and the count run smoothly, safely and efficiently.

For more information see our guidance on security considerations at electoral events. 

Staffing and timings

You should liaise with the local ROs to understand the number of staff and the processes used at previous elections and the number of ballot papers that were processed. An evaluation of the processes and staffing ratios, and when the various stages of the election process were completed, can then be used to inform decisions for these elections.  

You should share these details and timings with stakeholders together with the assumptions that underpin them. 

Some stakeholders may hold expectations as to how quickly the processes can be completed which cannot be met in practice and this can lead to tension and frustration. To manage expectations, you should explain in some detail the processes involved and how long each stage is likely to take. For more on this, see our guidance on providing information on key election processes.

We recognise the importance of local knowledge and experience and that there is no ‘one size fits all approach’ which can be applied to, or even within, each combined authority area. Every area has its own set of circumstances which will influence your decisions on how best to ensure a consistent, high-quality experience for those voting and standing for election across the combined authority area.

The combined authority mayoral election is one election delivered across a number of local authority areas. You should consider at an early stage how you will ensure that the election is administered to a consistent standard across the whole of the combined authority area, so that voters receive a consistently high quality of service regardless of where they live and that the election produces a result that is accepted. This should be reflected in the objectives and success measures set out in your project plan and should include whether you have issued (or intend to issue) guidance, and whether and how you have used (or intend to use) your power to give directions.

There will be aspects of the election process where you will particularly want to ensure that there is consistency, most notably in the areas that impact on the voters’ experience – for example, how LROs will meet their duty to ensure polling station voting is accessible to all voters, the issue of poll cards and postal votes, and the staffing of polling stations – as well as in respect of the verification and counting of votes. 

There are various tools available to you to ensure consistency. It is for you to decide, based on factors such as your knowledge, experience and relationships with the LROs in your area, and taking into consideration issues of scope and scale, how to best achieve the objectives set out in your election plan. Your power to give directions is one tool available for you to use, but whether to give directions, on what matters, and to whom is at your discretion.

Where the combined authority mayoral election is combined with the poll at another election you will not be able to use the power of direction for some aspects of the process depending on which RO is responsible for them in practice. Therefore other tools to ensure consistency – such as cooperation and consultation – will be crucial.

Your project plan should reflect how and when you will reach a decision on your approach to managing and co-ordinating the poll in your area and how you will implement this approach in practice. It should also include a communications strategy to support this work.

As a minimum, you should have in place processes for monitoring the delivery of the combined authority mayoral election across the whole of the combined authority area, including compliance with any directions and/or guidance you have given. You should think about how you will support other LROs and electoral administrators in the area in managing the polls and in dealing with any emerging issues.

The Commission’s teams across England will be available to support you throughout the election. Further detail on our plans for support at any scheduled elections will be included in future EA Bulletins.

You may choose to issue written guidance to local ROs on particular aspects of the election. In order to effectively manage the result collation process, you should put in place a protocol for the transmission and receipt of local verification and count totals.

You should also arrange training and/or briefing sessions for local ROs and their staff.

As part of your planning you should identify what directions you expect to issue to local ROs, although there may of course be issues that arise at a later stage on which it becomes desirable or necessary for you to give directions at short notice. Should you decide that the use of directions is appropriate, you should include specific plans for developing and issuing directions and a communications strategy to support this process in your project plan.

If you are considering giving directions or guidance to local ROs you should take into account any relevant criteria in the performance standards framework and/or Electoral Commission guidance. The performance standards framework and Commission guidance reflect what we and the UK Electoral Coordination and Advisory Board (ECAB) and the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) agree that Returning Officers need to do to prepare for and deliver well-run elections. This shared agreement, along with the flexibility in how the standards are achieved, should reduce the potential risk of conflict between the criteria of the standards and any guidance or directions issued by CAROs.

In order that local ROs can be clear as to precisely what is expected of them, if you do intend to give any guidance or directions that are different or contrary to the criteria of the standards, please contact our Commission teams in the first instance to discuss the implications so that we can avoid there being any unresolved conflicting requirements placed on local ROs as far as possible.

In deciding whether to give a direction on a particular aspect of the election, and what that direction should be, you should aim, wherever possible, to consult your local ROs, so that you can take into account any relevant local factors in making your decisions. This consultation should help to reduce the risk of any directions having unintended consequences and potentially maximise the ability of local ROs to comply with them. 

In particular, you should ensure that when you are deciding on any potential directions you intend to give, you have considered and consulted with other local ROs on whether and how the direction applies in areas where polls are combined. 

Any consultation on possible directions should be planned for and completed in good time to enable the prompt and timely communication of your decision and any associated directions to local ROs, to enable them to plan and prepare for the election accordingly.

If you decide to exercise your power of direction, you should do so with regard to the following principles and aims:

• trust: people should be able to trust the way our elections work
• participation: it should be straightforward for people to participate in our elections (whether as campaigners, candidates or voters) and people should be confident that their vote counts
• consistency across the combined authority area
• transparency
• professionalism
• accurate results in which people can have confidence

You should communicate any directions to local ROs at the earliest opportunity, particularly any requiring them to take specified preparatory steps. You should keep a record of what directions have been given, when, and to whom. 

Local ROs are legally required to comply with any directions you issue. However, your plans for giving directions should take account of the fact that there may be circumstances where local ROs are unable to comply with a direction, for whatever reason. You should therefore ensure that you develop plans to deal with these situations, which may include establishing a process for considering requests for exceptions to your directions. You should keep a record of any instances where you have agreed that a local RO can deviate from a direction.

You should establish a project team to support you in carrying out your functions as CARO. The project team should include the relevant key staff to support you in each specific function, including encouraging and co-ordinating electoral participation across the combined authority area and ensuring that candidates’ election addresses are compliant with legislation.

In addition to yourself your project team should include:

• other local ROs in the combined authority area
• where a local ROs is not also the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), the ERO
• any appointed deputies
• other election staff members
• any other key personnel you consider appropriate (such as, for example, colleagues from your council’s communications team or your local SPOC).

The project team should have a clear remit and understanding of the tasks to be carried out. At the planning stage a schedule of meetings should be prepared, and a record of each meeting should be kept as an audit trail of what was discussed and of any decisions made. Where possible, you should chair any formal meetings of the project team.

You are personally liable for the conduct of the combined authority mayoral election relating to your role and duties. Where polls are combined you are personally liable for the functions that fall to you as CARO. 

You may appoint one or more deputies to assist you in delivering the election,1 and you should take steps to put any arrangements you consider as appropriate in place at an early stage in the process. As a minimum you should ensure that you appoint one or more deputies to assume your role in case you are unable to act personally as CARO. 

You should ensure that any deputies appointed have the skills and knowledge required to carry out the functions that they have been assigned. You must make any appointment of a deputy in writing2 and should include details of the functions that the deputy is authorised to exercise on your behalf. The deputy’s acceptance should also be given in writing. While you can appoint one or more deputies to discharge any or all of your functions, you cannot delegate your personal responsibility for the conduct of the election or any aspects of it that you are responsible for delivering. 

You need to have access to the registers for all local authority areas within the combined authority area for:

• calculating the number of local government electors across all local authority areas on the last day for publication of notice of election
  • you could either carry out the calculation yourself based on the registers received or ask the EROs across your combined authority area to provide you with the figures
• checking whether the subscribers to a candidate’s nomination are valid
  • you may either collect register copies from all EROs in your area so that you can carry out the checks yourself, or you may wish to delegate the checking to local ROs
• delivering the booklet containing the candidates’ addresses to all registered electors in the combined authority area 

Candidates will require access to the electoral registers to:

• complete their nomination form
• help them campaign
• check that donations are permissible

The Commission has produced template electoral register and lists of absent voters request forms that candidates can use.

You can find detailed information on access and supply of the full electoral register and absent voters lists to candidates, registered political parties (who can request a copy at any time) and others in the access and supply section of our guidance for EROs.

You will need to ensure your plans outline the processes and safeguards you will have in place regarding the transfer and security of the data included on the electoral registers.

You should start discussions with the EROs in the combined authority area at an early stage about how this can best be achieved in practice. You will need to take into account any practical issues related to managing registers if they have been produced by different software suppliers.

If there is a need for exchanging data electronically, you should agree the timings for the exchange of data and ensure that a test of the process is carried out ahead of the first scheduled transfer. You should ensure that data protection is considered and that any transfer of data is secure.

You can find more detailed advice on storing personal data securely and maintaining your document retention policy, including what it should contain, in our guidance on Data Protection. 

You will also need to ensure there is an agreement in place between you and each ERO in the combined authority area for secure data transfer and destruction of data. Although data protection legislation does not require a written agreement when sharing data between data controllers, it is strongly recommended that you agree a data sharing protocol with any other EROs in the combined authority area 

There will be updates to the data at a number of points within the election timetable, as the ERO must publish two interim election notices of alteration as well as the final election notice of alteration. We have published a timetable containing the dates related to the publication of these notices.

Delivery of candidates’ address booklet 

You (or your chosen delivery contractor) will need access to the addresses of electors across the combined authority area for the purposes of sending the booklet containing candidates’ addresses. You should liaise with EROs to confirm the process and timescales for sharing the necessary data.

You should lead on putting in place a single integrity plan for the whole of the combined authority area that covers the specific steps you will take to identify and deal with any potential electoral fraud or security concerns and how you will communicate your approach to provide confidence in the elections process to all stakeholders. You should do this in discussion with the police and local ROs, ensuring that any local RO integrity plans do not conflict with your own plan for the combined authority area.

Voters and campaigners should be confident that elections are free from fraud, everyone can safely take part in the election process and that the results you declare are a true and accurate reflection of the will of the electorate. Trust and confidence in the integrity and security of elections is essential but can be fragile – it will be difficult for you to rebuild trust or confidence which has been lost as a result of allegations or proven cases of fraud. It is also vital that candidates and campaigners can participate free from intimidation or risk. 

Planning for the prevention of electoral fraud and safe delivery of electoral events

While you will need to be able to work with the police, including your police single point of contact (SPOC), force elected-official adviser (FEOA), and prosecutors to investigate any allegations which might be made, you should also put in place effective strategies for managing the safe delivery of electoral events and the prevention of electoral fraud from the outset. 

In order to ensure that voters and candidates can have confidence that their votes will be counted in the way that voters intended, you will need to have in place plans and processes to identify any patterns of activity that might indicate potential electoral fraud. You should review any mitigations for specific risks that you have identified regularly.

You should establish and maintain contact with the police at an appropriate level as part of this. The SPOC will be able to provide you with contact details for the relevant force command or lead unit and will also be able to explain any divisional structure within the force if appropriate. You should ensure that you are provided with the contact details of any divisional SPOCs and FEOAs and ensure that the local ROs within the combined authority area schedule regular contact with them.

Your plan should be developed in consultation with your SPOC and FEOA. The SPOC is your contact for election-related crime, including allegations of fraud. The FEOA is a dedicated police contact for raising security concerns and sharing any relevant intelligence involving any elected officials and candidates for those roles. For more information see our guidance for Returning Officers at local elections on working with your local police force.   

Your plans should include specific steps to maintain the security of the elections and identify and deal with any potential electoral fraud, and should also identify how you will communicate your approach to maintaining electoral integrity in order to support public confidence in the election. 

You should plan how you will share candidate contact details (such as email addresses and telephone numbers) with the FEOA to enable them to contact candidates and agents directly with updated security guidance. You should review your data protection policies and privacy notices to ensure these are fit for purpose. For more information, see our guidance on the lawful basis for processing of personal data.

You should discuss your plans for maintaining the integrity of the election with your SPOC at the earliest opportunity. A checklist of topics that should be considered at any pre-election planning meeting between you and your SPOC is available. You should, as part of this meeting, consider the possibility of any joint publicity work that can be carried out with the police, for example, jointly running public awareness campaigns within the electoral area to highlight what can be done to help detect and prevent electoral fraud.

As part of your early liaison with your SPOC and FEOA you should establish a clear agreement about the division of responsibilities between you, your SPOC and FEOA, so that there is early clarity about each other’s roles. In particular, you should agree with your SPOC and FEOA an approach for referring security concerns or allegations of fraud you may receive for further investigation where appropriate. For example, will you or the local ROs be the initial point of contact and refer allegations to the relevant SPOC or FEOA, or will the relevant SPOC or FEOA be the initial point of contact and advise you of allegations? In addition, you should agree a mechanism for handling evidence, so that the police can carry out any forensic analysis, where necessary. 

A template memorandum of understanding between local ROs and the police on joint planning for elections and the reporting and investigating of electoral fraud is available on the College of Policing Authorising Professional Practice website. Elements of this document can also be adapted for any memorandum of understanding between you and the police. 

The College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice have provided guidance to local authorities for handling evidence.

Integrity plans prepared by local ROs should fit within the combined authority area plan and include any issues they have identified locally. Guidance for local ROs on integrity plans can be found in our Returning Officer guidance. You should ensure that you have considered the specific risks relating to each of the areas within the combined authority area as a whole, including taking into account previous allegations of electoral fraud and the risk of electoral fraud allegations relating to other polls taking place on the same day as the combined authority election. There are a number of electoral offences specified in electoral law and the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice has produced information on investigating electoral offences. 

You should share the approach to maintaining the security of the election and tackling electoral fraud with parties, candidates and agents at briefing sessions and/or within the information provided to them. You should also invite the police to attend any such briefing sessions and invite them to supply you with any relevant documentation to include in your information pack.

In some cases, where there is a significant risk of electoral fraud allegations or to the safe delivery of electoral processes, you should also consider communicating your approach to tackling fraud or addressing security concerns more widely in advance of polling day to provide reassurance to voters and campaigners. 

Following consultation with ROs, police forces and political parties, we have issued a Code of Conduct for campaigners at elections and referendums. The Code applies to all campaigners and sets out agreed standards of appropriate behaviour before and during an election or referendum. The Code also makes it clear that if an RO considers it appropriate to address further specific local risks, and has consulted with relevant national and local parties, we will support them in introducing additional local provisions which may go beyond the terms of the nationally agreed Code of Conduct.  

The College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice have developed a template letter seeking agreement from candidates to abide by the Code of Conduct and this should be provided to all candidates standing at the election.

You are uniquely placed to identify incidents and patterns of activity that might indicate electoral fraud in your area.

Effective early action to address possible fraud could help to avoid costly police investigations or legal challenges to the results of elections.

You should ensure that you have mechanisms in place to assess the risk of electoral fraud in your area, including considering:

• whether there has been a history of allegations of electoral fraud in parts of the combined authority area, including in specific wards 
• whether the election is likely to be particularly close and hard fought
• whether the contest is based on strong personal disagreements as well as political arguments
• where there is a highly mobile population with a frequent turnover of electors
• where there are electors who may be more vulnerable because of low levels of literacy and/or English language ability

Your plans for managing the risk of electoral fraud across the combined authority area will need to reflect any specific risks you or local ROs have identified in addition to any general fraud detection plans.

For example, you should consider the risks associated with houses of multiple occupation, student halls of residence or care homes where other people may have access to personal mail or where care givers may assist residents in care homes with completing postal vote applications or postal votes.

Your plans should also set out mechanisms for monitoring indicators of possible electoral fraud and setting thresholds for action in response. Although there are no definitive signs of possible electoral fraud, you should be aware of and consider with local ROs and EROs whether:

• there have been unusual patterns in registration or absent vote, or Voter Authority Certificate applications at other elections in the combined authority area
• there have been unusual patterns of rejected ballot papers, including rejected postal ballot packs, at other elections in the combined authority area
• there is any unusual pattern of registration or absent vote applications in the period leading up to the election

Allegations and cases of electoral fraud will not only have a negative impact on the confidence of electors and campaigners, but they may also have a significant impact on your capacity to manage the election process effectively.

You should ensure that all candidates and agents understand how to raise specific concerns about electoral fraud relating to the election, including what type and level of evidence will be necessary to enable allegations to be investigated by the police. You should also ensure that they understand how allegations will be dealt with, and what information and feedback they should be able to expect about the progress of any investigations.

The police will investigate any allegations of fraud until, following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), they are either satisfied that no further action is necessary or appropriate, or they forward the case file to the CPS for prosecution. The police should keep you and, where appropriate, the local RO and ERO informed of the progress of the case. 

You should also be aware that, particularly where the combined authority mayor would take on the functions of the Police and Crime Commissioner, there may be instances when the police force decides that it would be appropriate to ask another force to investigate allegations of electoral fraud relating to these elections. In such an instance, you should ensure that you make contact with the relevant lead officer from the force leading the investigation as quickly as possible.

The College of Policing has produced guidance for policing elections on their website.

Candidates and their agents must follow rules set out in legislation about how much they can spend at an election. We produce guidance for candidates and agents, parties and non-party campaigners outlining rules on spending. This can be found on our website.

In England, any queries on election spending should be referred to the Electoral Commission’s Party Election Finance team via email: [email protected] or telephone: 0333 103 1928. 

As CARO you will need to put in place communication plans to support the delivery of the election. These plans should support you in effectively liaising with and coordinating the work of local ROs to ensure the consistent delivery of the poll across the combined authority area, and with managing stakeholder coordination and communication, including media liaison.

When developing your communication plans you should identify and document how you will communicate in relation to key aspects of your approach to managing and co-ordinating the poll, including:

• consulting on and giving guidance and, where appropriate, directions 
• disseminating information
• monitoring local RO planning and performance
• communicating your plans for the processes for which you are responsible, particularly nominations and result collation
• coordinating public awareness activity
• providing advice and support to, and dealing with enquiries from, local ROs and their staff

You should establish a schedule of regular meetings with local ROs from across the combined authority area to discuss options and issues, with a view to, where possible, reaching consensus on the decisions you need to make to deliver the election and meet the identified objectives and success measures. A record of each meeting should be kept as an audit trail of what was discussed and of any decisions made.

You must take appropriate steps to encourage the participation of electors in the election,1 and in carrying out such activity you must have regard to any guidance issued by the Electoral Commission. 

Part of this engagement activity should include how the local ROs in your area will communicate the voting process and support available for disabled voters in their areas. This should be both directly with local disability organisations and more general signposting to accessible communications, such as providing online versions of documents that are easy-read, compatible with screen-readers, or available in large print.

As CARO you should actively take the lead in promoting and sharing good practice and in coordinating awareness activity across the combined authority area.

Your planning should take into account the need to work with local ROs in your combined authority area to ensure that local area-wide awareness activity is coordinated and that clear, consistent messages are communicated effectively to electors.

When preparing the public awareness strategy for your combined authority area, you should consider and document:

• the identification of your target audience
• the objectives and success measures of the activity 
• any risks – and mitigation of those risks
• resources – both financial and staffing
• plans for collaborative working with relevant local partners, including experts in the communications department of your local authority

Implementation of your strategy should be included within your overall project plan.

You should establish a communications network involving a representative of each local RO in your combined authority area to share information and coordinate public awareness activity across the combined authority area. This network can also be used to ensure that any communication relating to specific aspects of the election, such as the verification and counting of votes or the declaration of result, or issues that arise, for example allegations of electoral fraud, are dealt with effectively and consistently across the combined authority area.

You must publish notices by posting them in a conspicuous place or places within the combined authority area.1 This should include local authority offices, noticeboards, libraries and other public buildings. The notice may also be given in such other manner as you think fit.2  

In order to ensure that voters can receive the information they need and within time for them to cast their vote, you should ensure that any notices that you publish are easily accessible for voters, such as through your local authority website. You should ensure that any notices published on your website are in an accessible format. 

If you are making information available on your website you should ensure it is accessible to all voters. For example, if you are providing information in PDF format, you should be aware that if certain steps are not followed when creating PDFs they may not be compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies. The UK Government has produced a guide to producing accessible PDFs you can refer to. You could also speak to your authority’s equalities officer for advice.

You will also need to consider how you will supply any notices for local publication by the local ROs in your combined authority area in order to enable timely publication. You should liaise with the local ROs in your combined authority area to ensure that the notices they are required to publish locally are also made accessible.  

In accordance with data protection legislation, you will need to consider whether it is appropriate or necessary for the notices to remain published, on your website or elsewhere, beyond the expiry of the petition period for that election. You will also need to decide who will be responsible for removing them at the appropriate time. You can find more information about data protection in our guidance: Data protection 

Where the notices serve specific purposes, i.e. advising who will be a candidate at the election, once the election is over, and the opportunity to question that election has passed, they serve no further purpose. Therefore, you should either remove the notices, or remove the personal data contained in the notices, once the petition deadline for the election has passed.

Data protection legislation does permit personal data to be stored for longer periods if the data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, or for scientific, historical, or statistical purposes and subject to the implementation of appropriate safeguards. For notices of election results, for example, you should retain these on your website as they are for public interest and historical and statistical purposes.

You should have robust proof-checking processes in place to ensure that there are no errors on the notices you are required to publish. Having robust proof-checking processes in place could help detect any errors and avoid any potential data breaches before they occur.

Translation and formats of notices

You are required, where you consider it appropriate to do so, to ensure that notices are translated or provided in another format.3 You may produce them:  

• in Braille 
• in languages other than English
• using graphical representations
• in audio format4   
• using any other means of making information accessible 

The nomination form and the ballot papers cannot be produced in any other language or format.5 However, both the enlarged hand-held and display copies of the ballot paper must have the instructions for voters printed at the top of the paper, and these words may be translated into languages other than English.6

You have a legal responsibility to produce and distribute a booklet containing the candidates’ election addresses to every voter in the combined authority area.1

In order to effectively communicate information to electors you should consider who you want to reach through your awareness activity and the method of communication to be used. You should take advice and seek input from relevant staff at the combined authority or other local authorities in the combined authority area, in particular communications and marketing staff. 

Information required by electors in order to successfully participate may include: 

• details of the election itself
• the date and hours of poll 
• the location of polling stations 
• any key deadlines (e.g. deadlines for applying to register to vote, for postal or proxy votes and for applying for a Voter Authority Certificate) 
• how to register to vote
• how to vote (i.e. how to mark the ballot paper(s)) 
• requirement to show an accepted form of photographic ID in order to vote in a polling station
• how to apply for a postal or proxy vote, including the requirement for ID checks
• how to return their postal vote (e.g. by post or in person)
• the number of postal votes that can be handed in by an individual, and the restrictions on who can hand in postal votes
• how to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate or Anonymous Elector's Document
• assistance available to electors and how to request reasonable adjustments (e.g. equipment to enable disabled voters to vote independently in the polling station) and how to request information in alternative formats (e.g. braille, easy read, large print)
• how and when votes are counted 
• how the result will be made known 

In the lead-up to scheduled polls, the Commission may run a public awareness campaign to encourage registration. Such a campaign will usually involve mass media advertising, working with partners and public relations activities. We will also provide resources that can be used locally, such as posters, online banners, template press releases and social media content. 

We will provide you with information on our public awareness campaigns via the EA Bulletin. We also publish a voter registration newsletter, Roll Call, which aims to help local council communications teams stay up-to-date with the latest campaign information and resources. You and your council communications team can sign up to receive the newsletter here.

The Commission also provides absent vote application forms to support electors in the postal and proxy vote application process. 

You should ensure that all outgoing communications provide appropriate contact details to allow anyone to respond and obtain further information. You should consider what contact details are most appropriate in each case, working with local ROs and their staff as required.

You can find further guidance on the production of voter materials for CAROs and quality assuring election materials in our guidance for ROs. 

The public may also proactively make enquiries and you need to consider how a consistent approach to addressing such enquires can be achieved. You could, for example, consider developing agreed responses to FAQs for front line staff. We have developed FAQs for scheduled elections, which also includes Q&A’s in relation to combined authority mayoral elections.

‘Where is my polling station?’ is a common question in the run-up to polling day and on polling day itself. So voters can easily find out where their polling station is, we provide, in partnership with Democracy Club, a postcode search tool on our website. When voters enter their postcode, they are shown when the election is in their area, where their polling station is, and who their candidates are. You could add a link to our website. 

To provide voters with information on polling stations we need you to send us the polling station data for your area if you are also the local RO provided your data is straightforward. Once you have finalised your polling stations, you can export the data from your EMS, and email it to [email protected]. Detailed instructions are available for each supplier, if you need them.

We also provide your contact details in our postcode search tool. If your contact details change we ask that you let us know as soon as possible so that we can update our records. 

As CARO/CCARO you are responsible for all aspects of the nomination process at the combined authority mayoral election. Your project plan should include details on how you will engage with political parties, candidates and agents and how you will manage the nominations process.

It should be straightforward for those campaigning to participate in elections. As CARO/CCARO you are responsible for putting in place an effective communication plan. You should work with local ROs to co-ordinate engagement with candidates and agents across the combined authority area, and put in place plans to ensure that candidates and agents are provided with relevant information in a timely manner. You should plan for candidate and agent briefings early in the election process.

You should consider if there are any specific local circumstances or local information that your local ROs may want to communicate such as the timing and location of postal vote openings and the count, any security measures that will be in place and whether this will form part of your communications or if the local ROs will provide information relevant to their areas.

You should take steps at an early stage to estimate how many candidates might stand for election as this can have a significant impact on various elements of the electoral process, including the printing of ballot papers, nominations, the management of candidate election addresses and production of the booklet, as well as the verification and count. In order to develop this estimate, and to keep it under review, you should make early contact with political parties, monitor any expressions of interest and, in due course, monitor requests for nomination packs.

There may be a significant number of new or less experienced candidates, agents and political parties who are unfamiliar with the practices and processes of standing for election and who will need your support to be able to participate effectively. It is therefore important that you engage candidates, agents and parties as much as possible so that they receive all the information they need in order to stand for election and they can have confidence that the processes are well-managed.

It is vital that all candidates know what they need to do in order to stand for election, what the spending limits are, how they can obtain the electoral registers and what the restrictions are on the use of the registers, including data protection considerations. One difficulty likely to be faced by CARO/CCAROs is that those intending to stand for election do not always make contact with the elections staff before submitting their nomination papers. You will therefore need to consider how you are going to raise awareness and promote the availability of information and briefings to all candidates and agents before they complete and submit their nomination papers.

You will need to have discussions with local Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to determine how you will obtain copies of the electoral register to candidates and what your approach will be for the required candidate subscriber checks during the nomination period.

You will need to ensure that the requirements as to the content of candidate election addresses are complied with, alongside the procedures for submitting those addresses. You will also need to plan how you are going to manage the process of producing and distributing the mayoral booklet.

You should ensure that you offer candidates and election agents a briefing session on the election processes, including local arrangements.

You should also hold an additional briefing session after the list of candidates standing for election has been confirmed after the close of nominations.

As a minimum, your briefing should cover:

• the nomination process
• the election process
• election spending
• accessing the electoral register
• handling of postal votes restrictions on the handling of postal voting documents by campaigners
• the Code of conduct for campaigners in Great Britain 

You should also inform candidates and agents that Voter Identification requirements are in place for this poll.  

You will also need to work with local ROs to decide how information about local arrangements will be provided. This will include information on the dates, times and venues for the key election processes including:

• postal vote issues and openings
• polling day including the equipment provided to polling stations that makes voting easier for disabled people
• the verification and count, including any additional security measures that will be in place 

The briefings should allow for the fact that there may be people who have little or no knowledge of election rules and procedures or who have not involved themselves in elections for some time. 

All briefing sessions should highlight the importance of following the election rules. You should also provide information on the standards of behaviour you expect from supporters in the area of the polling place on polling day and during the verification and count.

Your briefing session(s) should also highlight any security arrangements that have been put in place in consultation with the police, including your plans to share candidate email/phone number contact details with your local force elected-official adviser (FEOA) to help maintain candidate safety. You should advise candidates of how their contact details will be used and provide an opportunity to opt out if necessary. 

You should also invite your police single point of contact (SPOC) and FEOA to attend any briefing sessions, or to provide written material that you can provide to candidates and agents.

Additional security guidance for candidates and agents is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/security-guidance-for-may-2021-elections. 

We have produced a template presentation for candidates and agents at a combined authority mayoral election that you can use and which is available on our website.

You should ensure that all candidates and election agents have access to written guidance on the election process, including local arrangements, and that the information is provided in good time to enable candidates and agents to act on it. As set out in our guidance on communicating with Candidates and Agents, you should work with local ROs in your combined authority area to ensure that candidates at the combined authority mayoral election have easy access to information on any processes that are to be carried out locally, such as the opening of postal votes and the count and any entry requirements or additional security measures put in place.

Candidates, agents and their supports should also be briefed on the standards of behaviour that are expected at electoral events. 

The purpose of providing written guidance is so that candidates, agents and parties have access to authoritative and comprehensive guidance for reference at any time to ensure that they have all the information they need to take part in an election. 

Where appropriate, you can provide candidates and agents with a link to where they can find the relevant information online and it will be for you to ensure in each case that candidates and agents can easily access the information they need and to do whatever is necessary to facilitate this. 

You should also direct candidates and agents to the Commission’s guidance for candidates and agents at a combined authority mayoral election, which is available on our website.

Accessibility

You should bear in mind that candidates and agents may have specific access needs, and so may need any information or guidance produced in a large-print or other format, such as Braille, or audio, or in a language other than English.

You should also consider that candidates and agents may have special requirements to support their attendance at briefings and you should make briefings available online or via video conference wherever possible. 

You can record your briefing and make this available online for candidates and agents to watch on demand at their convenience, with details of how they can ask any follow up questions afterwards included.

However, you will also need to consider how you will offer briefings to those who are unable to, or uncomfortable with, accessing such information online, which may require you to provide some in-person briefings. You should inform candidates and agents of your proposed approach early to assist with your planning and preparation. Those interested in receiving a briefing should be asked to register in advance so that you can track numbers as well as accessibility requirements, which will enable you to tailor your approach and put the appropriate arrangements in place.
 

Candidates are required by law to follow certain rules regarding:

• how much they can spend
• who they can accept donations from
• what they must report after the election 

To support candidates and agents in calculating the spending limit, you must provide on written request information on the total number of constituent councils together with the total number of local government electors – excluding any attainers who will not be 18 years of age on or before polling day – on the registers across the combined authority area on the last day for the publication of the notice of election, which is on the twenty-fifth working day before the poll.1  

You should liaise with EROs across the combined authority area to obtain the electorate figures as soon as the registers, as they will be in force on the twenty-fifth working day before the poll, are available. You should ensure that you provide this information to all candidates in a timely manner, whether or not a written request is made, so that they can meet their statutory obligations. As a minimum, this information must be supplied as soon as practicable after receiving a written request.2

The electorate figures will, in most cases, be those based on the monthly notice of alteration published before the twenty-fifth working day before the poll. The only exception to this is if there has been an unscheduled election in a part of the combined authority area in which case the final figures may not be known until an election notice of alteration is published.   

We have produced guidance for candidates and agents on spending and donations at a combined authority mayoral election which you can use to provide candidates and agents with information on spending limits and donation controls, as well as returns and declarations in order to enable them to meet their reporting requirements.

Our template presentation for candidates and agents also contains guidance on spending and donations. 

Once a person becomes a candidate at the combined authority mayoral election as defined in the paragraphs below, they can request a copy of the full registers and lists of absent voters covering the combined authority area they are standing in.1 Registers can only be supplied if the candidate has made a written request. 

The earliest a person can officially become a candidate is on the last day for the publication of notice of election (i.e. on the 25th working day before the poll). They will officially become a candidate on this day if on or before this date they have already declared that they are a candidate at the election (or another person has declared that they are a candidate).

If after this date they or others declare that they will be a candidate at the election, they will become a candidate on the date such a declaration is made, or on the date that they submit their nomination papers, whichever is the earlier.

While the legal responsibility for receiving requests and supplying registers to candidates rests with the ERO for each local authority area,2 you should start discussions with EROs at an early stage to determine how best to ensure that all candidates can be supplied with registers in such a way that they have timely and easy access to them, that the information contained in them is used in accordance with electoral and data protection legislation, and decide how this will be communicated.

For example, you could decide to supply the registers centrally on behalf of the EROs as part of the nomination pack. The benefit of this approach is that it could operate so that candidates would only need to complete one request form covering all areas within the combined authority and receive their registers from a single place, instead of having to approach each ERO separately with individual requests. 

If you are considering supplying the registers centrally, you will have to discuss and agree with the EROs how the various registers could be brought together for subsequent supply and consider how this would work for both printed and data copies. The registers must be supplied in data form unless a printed copy has been specifically requested. You will need to ensure that whatever arrangements you put in place are clearly communicated to the candidates and their agents to enable them to use the registers to campaign and obtain the necessary subscribers.

The media plays an important role in providing information to voters on the election. It is important that media communication is managed in a coordinated and consistent way across the combined authority area in order to maintain public confidence that the election is being well-run. To achieve this effectively there should be a clear process in place for the combined authority area to be followed by you, local ROs and your respective communications teams to respond to any issues that arise.

You should ensure that stakeholder coordination and communication is embedded throughout your planning. Your arrangements for working with the media should include:

• plans for coordinating media liaison within the combined authority area, and strategies for dealing with both proactive communication and media liaison in relation to specific events such as the verification and counting of votes and the result declaration
• processes for dealing with general media enquiries
• plans for reactive handling of any issues that arise in relation to the election, for example allegations of electoral fraud 

Observers accredited by the Commission are entitled to observe:

• the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers
• the poll
• the verification and counting of the votes
• the collation of the result 

Your project plan should include processes to manage potential enquiries from observers and to support their attendance at the electoral processes they are entitled to attend. This should include providing observers with information on the location and timing of the above processes.

Commission representatives are also entitled to observe these processes and, in addition, are entitled to observe your working practices.

Accredited observers and Commission representatives do not need to give advance notification of where they intend to observe, but will carry with them a photographic identification card issued by the Commission.

Quick guide to the observer badge types

Observer badge type	Who are they?	Access
	Electoral Commission representatives	Same as candidates and agents, plus access to the issue of postal votes, and working practices of the RO and ERO
	Observers accredited by the Commission	Same as candidates and agents, plus access to the issue of postal votes

If you are in doubt about the status of a particular individual seeking to gain access to election processes, you can check the registers of observers on the Commission’s website. 

You have a legal duty to have regard to the Commission’s Code of practice for observers when managing the attendance of observers.1 Observers will have agreed to comply with the standards of behaviour set out in the Commission’s Code of practice. If you think there has been a breach of the Code of practice, please inform your local Commission team.

For more information on the role of observers see our guidance for accredited electoral observers.

It is vital to the delivery of the election that voters can receive the information they need, without errors, in an accessible format and within time for them to take necessary action in relation to their vote. 

This guidance provides an overview of the legal requirements relating to the function of the CARO and their coordination with Local ROs for poll cards, ballot papers, and absent voting arrangements. 

Local ROs are required by law to send out poll cards as soon as practicable after the publication of the notice of election.

In order to ensure that voters receive the same information at a similar time regardless of where they live in the combined authority area, you should liaise and agree with local ROs on timings for the delivery of poll cards. 

You can find more information on the production of poll cards in our guidance advice for Returning Officers delivering local elections.

Local ROs are responsible for the production of ballot papers for their area. You may take on responsibility for printing ballot papers in any or all areas by giving a direction to the relevant local ROs.1

If you intend to take on this responsibility you should notify the relevant ROs at the outset of the election planning process, and provide them with information as soon as possible about when and how ballot papers will be delivered to them for issue in postal ballot packs and use in polling stations. If you do decide to issue a direction to print the ballot papers yourself, then data protection considerations and effective management of contractors and suppliers will be critical. 

The form and content of the ballot paper is prescribed in legislation. If local ROs have retained responsibility for the printing of combined authority mayoral ballot papers, once the deadline for withdrawal of nominations has passed, you will need to give them clear and timely information about the final details of the ballot paper to enable them to confirm the exact specifications with their printers and commence printing. This includes the precise size and layout, and candidate details (i.e. name, address or electoral area if applicable, description (if any) and emblem (if any)).

You may wish to give specific guidance or directions to local ROs as you think appropriate, to ensure that the form and content of the ballot papers meet the legislative requirements and are consistent across the whole of the combined authority area. 

You should have processes in place to ensure that local ROs print the ballot papers correctly, including that the candidate details on the ballot paper are reproduced accurately, and that the correct emblems and font type and size have been used. You should provide a template ballot paper that local ROs can use as a basis for printing the ballot papers for their constituent council area, and against which they can check printing proofs and final versions of the ballot papers. 

You should also consider putting in place a process to proof check the ballot papers of local ROs yourself before printing commences in order to satisfy yourself that all the ballot papers across the combined authority area will be printed correctly.

You can find more information on the production of ballot papers, including the official mark, the printing of candidates’ details and data protection considerations in our RO guidance for local elections on the production of ballot papers.  

Secure transfer of information

You will need to ensure your plans outline the processes and safeguards you will have in place regarding the transfer and security of data between yourself and local ROs. 

You will need to ensure there is an agreement in place between you and each local RO in the combined authority area for the secure data transfer and destruction of data. Our guidance on data protection contains more detailed advice on storing personal data securely and maintaining your document retention policy, including what it should contain.

Although data protection regulations do not require a written agreement when sharing data between data controllers, it is strongly recommended that you agree a data sharing protocol with other local ROs in the combined authority area.

You can find more information on managing contractors and suppliers in our RO guidance for local elections on managing contractors and suppliers.   

If you are taking on the responsibility for printing ballot papers and intend to send data to a contractor to produce ballot papers for the election, you are using a data processor. 

As a data controller, data protection legislation imposes a legal obligation when using a processor to formalise the working relationship in a contract which sets out: 

• the subject matter, nature and purpose of the processing
• the obligations and rights of the data controller
• the duration of the processing
• the types of personal data and categories of data subjects

In addition, the contract must set out specific obligations on the processor, including that they:

• comply with your instructions
• are subject to a duty of confidentiality
• keep personal data secure and notify you of any breach
• maintain written records of the processing activities they carry out for you
• only use a sub-processor with your consent
• submit to audits and inspections and provide you with whatever information you need to ensure compliance with data protection requirements
• delete or return all personal data to you as requested at the end of the contract

You can find more information on your legal obligations when using a data processor in our data protection guidance.

The colour of the ballot paper is not prescribed, nor is the colour to be used for tendered ballot papers, although tendered ballot papers must be a different colour from the ordinary ballot papers.1

As CARO you should decide early on what colour the ballot papers will be in your combined authority area and work closely with all of the local ROs to agree the colour to be used. 

At combined polls, different-coloured ballot papers must be used for each poll.2 You should also consider consulting print suppliers about the colour to ensure that your choice does not give rise to supply or production difficulties. 

In deciding on the ballot paper colour you should take into account accessibility issues relating to colour and contrast. Section 6 of the Commission’s Making your mark good practice design guidance contains advice on choosing colours.

You should consult with local ROs in the combined authority area early on in the planning process about the production of ballot papers to enable them to confirm their requirements and printing arrangements with their suppliers at an early stage in the process.

Although the final content of the ballot paper cannot be confirmed until nominations have closed, in addition to confirming the colour, you will need to make decisions about the following elements of the ballot paper at an early stage:

• ballot paper numbers
• unique identifying mark
• the ‘official mark’

You may use a different official mark for different purposes at the election. That means that you could choose one official mark for all ballot papers for the whole of the combined authority area, or you could choose to have different official marks, e.g. for polling station ballot papers and ballot papers issued to postal voters.

In particular, you will need to consider how to ensure that no two ballot papers in the combined authority area are duplicates. The unique identifying mark will need to be unique to each ballot paper across the combined authority area. If you reach a decision that the unique identifying marks to be used across the combined authority area are to be formed of a repeat of the ballot paper number with a prefix, you should consider developing unique prefixes for each local authority area which would then give local ROs flexibility as to how they number the ballot papers within their area.

You should consider how you are going to work with local ROs across the combined authority area to ensure that all absent voters receive a consistently high quality of service, irrespective of where they are registered. 

In particular you should consult with local ROs about their plans for issuing postal votes in their area with a view to ensuring that the timing for the receipt of postal votes by electors is consistent across the whole of the combined authority area and maximises the amount of time that voters will have to receive, complete and return their postal vote. 

You should liaise with local ROs to ensure that the dispatch of the election address booklet can, as far as is possible, be co-ordinated with the first issue of postal votes. If there are combined polls in your area, the relevant RO will need to decide whether to do a combined or separate issue of postal votes, and you will need to liaise with the relevant officer to ensure their decision is reflected in your overall plans.

This section of the guidance covers explains the statutory actions that must take place to enable the election timetable to formally commence.

This includes:

• the publication of the notice of election
• the publication of polling station notices

For the purpose of combined county authority mayoral elections, references in this guidance to combined authorities should, unless specifically indicated otherwise, be read as references to combined county authorities. 

We have published a non-date date specific timetable and a timetable for the May 2025 scheduled polls.

You must publish the notice of election by not later than 25 working days before polling day.1 You should also provide the local RO for each constituent council that is wholly or partly within your combined authority area with a copy of the notice for local publication.

The notice of election must include the following:

• the place and times at which nomination papers must be delivered, and at which nomination papers may be obtained2
• where you have decided to accept electronic payments, the arrangements for electronic payment of deposits3
• the date of the poll if the election is contested4
• the date by which applications for absent votes (including emergency proxies) and any cancellations or changes to existing absent voting arrangements must reach the ERO in order to be effective for the election5

The notice of election should also include the date by which applications for registration and Voter Authority Certificates or Anonymous Elector's Documents must reach the relevant ERO in order to be effective for the election. You should also consider including the requirements and deadlines for the submission of election addresses. Since you are required, on written request, to provide information on the number of constituent councils so that candidates can calculate their spending limit, you should consider proactively including this information on the notice of election. 

The address given for the delivery of nomination papers should be exact, and include any room number. This will avoid any doubt should nominations be delivered close to the deadline. All reception staff at offices of the building and other connected buildings should be informed that they should not take receipt of nomination papers.

We have developed a template notice of election which you can use for the combined authority mayoral election.
 

Where the poll at the combined authority mayoral election is not combined, you are required to prepare and provide each local RO with notices for display in polling booths, and outside and inside polling stations.1 The contents and format of the notices for the guidance of voters are prescribed.2

The notice entitled 'How to vote at this election' must be printed in conspicuous characters and exhibited outside and inside each polling station.4

The notice containing the text ‘Vote for ONLY ONE CANDIDATE by putting a cross [X] in the box next to your choice’ is required to be displayed in every polling booth.5

You may also provide versions of these notices in alternative languages or formats as you think appropriate and, if the local RO agrees, these may also be exhibited inside and outside the polling station.6  You should liaise with local ROs to identify what the alternative language and format requirements are across your combined authority area. 

You should liaise with local ROs in your combined authority area regarding what information on the combined authority mayoral election (such as the voting system and the role of the combined authority mayoral) should be given by polling station staff to electors. 

The provision of information in polling stations, whether given proactively or in response to questions from voters, should be consistent across the combined authority area. You should therefore consider how best to ensure that the same information is given to all voters across the combined authority area, wherever they are voting, and that the local ROs and their polling station staff have clear guidance about what information should or should not be given to voters. 

This section of the guidance covers the appointment of election agents, the requirement to give public notice of the appointment of election agents and how an appointment can be revoked. 

You will also find guidance on the appointment of agents to attend postal vote openings, polling stations and the verification and count. 

An election agent is the person responsible for the proper management of the candidate's election campaign and, in particular, for its financial management. Every candidate must have an election agent.

The notice of the appointment must be delivered to you by the latest time for delivery of notices of withdrawal by 4pm on the last day for the delivery of nomination papers.1

We have produced an election agents notification form as part of both sets of nomination papers for candidates at combined authority mayoral elections.

You should communicate information on the election processes, the code of conduct and standard points of behaviour to the election agent at the earliest opportunity. In particular any information you provide should provide links to and highlight the new postal vote handling and the new undue influence and intimidation rules.

Can a candidate be their own agent?

A candidate may appoint themselves as their election agent.

If no agent is appointed by the deadline for withdrawals, the candidate automatically becomes their own election agent.2

A candidate is also becomes their own agent if:

• they revoke their agent’s appointment, or
• their agent dies, and a replacement is not appointed on the day of the death or on the following day.3

Election agent’s office address

The election agent must have an office to which all claims, notices, legal process and other documents may be sent.4 This must be a physical address – PO boxes or similar mailboxes cannot be used. 

The location of the office must be within the combined authority area.5

The election agent’s office address will often be the same as their home address. Alternatively, it might be the local political party or an office especially set up for the election.

If the candidate gives you a written notification of their appointment as their own election agent, they must give an office address within the qualifying area as defined in the bullet points above.

Where a candidate acts as their own election agent as a result of not having appointed anybody else, the office address is deemed to be the address given on the statement of persons nominated, i.e. the one provided on their home address form. If that address is outside the combined authority area, the office address is deemed to be the address of the person named in the statement of persons nominated as proposer.6

This is the case even where a candidate has chosen to withhold their home address from the statement of persons nominated and ballot paper. You should make this clear to candidates.

Election agents may appoint sub-agents to act on their behalf.1
 
Election agents may appoint sub-agents for particular parts of the combined authority/combined county authority area, as long as those parts do not overlap.2  The agent can determine the parts into which they wish to sub-divide the combined authority/combined county authority area, and these may cross local authority boundaries.  

The office of the sub-agent must be in the area within which they are appointed to act.3

A sub-agent can do anything that the election agent is entitled to do within the area to which they are appointed.4 They may attend the opening of postal votes, the verification and count, as well as the calculation of the result, provided that these are taking place within the area in which they have been appointed to act and they are acting in place of the election agent.5  

The election agent must declare to you in writing the name, address and office address of each sub-agent they have appointed and the area in which they may act by the fifth working day before the day of the poll.6 You should include forms for the notification of appointment of sub-agents in your nomination packs. We have produced a form for the notification of sub-agents as part of both sets of nomination papers for candidates at combined authority mayoral elections.

The election agent can revoke the appointment of a sub-agent at any time.7 If a sub-agent dies or has their appointment revoked the election agent may appoint a new-sub agent by declaring in writing the name, address, office address and area of appointment of the new sub-agent to you.8

Once the name, address, office address and area of appointment of a sub-agent have been declared to you, you must give public notice of these details.9 You should forward this notice to the local ROs in the combined authority/combined county authority area for local publication.

Upon notification of an election agent’s name and address you must publish a notice setting out those details as soon as possible.1

You should also include the full name of the candidate on this notice, and you could add any commonly used name in brackets, for completeness.

However, there is no legal requirement to use both their full name and commonly used name, and you can decide on the approach to take. Whichever approach is followed, you should ensure that you apply it consistently for all candidates on the notice.

The notice must be updated if any agent’s appointment is revoked, or the agent dies, and the new agent’s details published on the revised version.2 You should provide a copy of the notice to all local ROs in your combined authority area for them to publish locally.

Your privacy notice should make clear that you are required under electoral legislation to publish an election agent’s name and address information in the notice of election agents. You will also need to consider whether it is appropriate or necessary for the notice to remain published, on your website or elsewhere, beyond the expiry of the petition period for that election. The notice serves a specific purpose, i.e. advising who will be a candidate’s election agent, so once the election is over, and the opportunity to question that election has passed, they serve no further purpose. Therefore, you should either remove the notice, or remove the personal data contained in the notice, once the petition deadline for the election has passed. You can find more information in our guidance on Data protection. 

Other agents can be appointed to observe the opening of postal votes, the poll and the count in each constituent council area.1 You must give notice of these appointments to the local RO.2

You should liaise with the relevant local ROs in your combined authority area to determine how best to ensure that this process is as straightforward for candidates and agents as possible and ensure that the arrangements are clearly communicated to the candidates and their agents.

You can find more information on the appointment of postal voting, polling and counting agents in our guidance for ROs.   
 

As CARO/CCARO you are responsible for the administration of a nomination process which supports candidates to stand for election and enables them to have confidence in the management of the election.  

The following guidance is designed to support you in the decisions you will need to take to manage the nomination process efficiently and effectively. It includes information on the requirements for nomination including candidate details, deposits and methods of delivery, guidance to support the processing and determining of nominations and guidance on the processes to be followed after the close of nominations such as the publishing of official notices. It also includes information on the actions required following the death of a candidate.

For the purpose of combined county authority mayoral elections, references in this guidance to combined authorities should, unless specifically indicated otherwise, be read as references to combined county authorities. 

Providing information on the nomination process to candidates and agents

There may be new or less experienced candidates, agents and political parties who are unfamiliar with the practices and processes of standing for election and who will need your support to be able to participate effectively. 

As part of your preparations for the polls, you will have put plans in place to ensure that you offer all potential candidates and agents a briefing session before or at the start of the nomination period, and are also issued with written guidance on the election process in good time to enable them to act on it. Details of what the briefings and written information should include, and links to template briefings, can be found in our guidance on providing information to political parties, candidates and agents.

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

A candidate is deemed to be validly nominated only if you have received the following completed forms and the deposit of £5,000 by the close of nominations (4pm on the nineteenth working day before poll):

• the nomination form
• a home address form
• a consent to nomination1  

Political party candidates

If a candidate wishes to stand on behalf of a registered political party then, in addition to the above they must also submit a certificate of authorisation, authorising the use of the party name on the ballot paper (as prescribed), and may also include a written request to use one of the party’s registered emblems if they choose.2  

The party name or description authorised by the certificate must match the party name or description given on the nomination form or the whole nomination will be invalid.3

The party must be registered on the Commission’s register of political parties at http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk and be listed as allowed to field candidates in the part of the UK that they are standing in. 

Production of nomination papers

Nomination papers can only be produced in English and not in any alternative languages or formats.4  However, you are required by law to prepare nomination papers for signature if someone requests.5  This means providing all of the documents required for nomination and completing them with all of the information given to you so that only the required signatures need to be added.

We have produced a set of nomination papers, which includes all of these forms that you can provide to candidates.

Candidates do not have to use the nomination form that you have produced and supplied, as long as their nomination form is as prescribed. 

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 candidate’s full names must be listed on the nomination form, with their surname given first followed by all of their other names in full.1

Prefixes and suffixes

The nomination form does not prescribe a space for prefixes or suffixes.

Candidates should be advised not to include prefixes or suffixes such as Mr, Mrs, Dr or Cllr, or suffixes such as OBE or MBA in the field of the nomination form asking for their full name. If a prefix or suffix is included as part of the actual name the nomination form would not be invalid as a result, but the prefix or suffix should not be transferred to the statement of persons nominated. 

If a candidate has submitted a nomination form with a prefix or suffix as part of their actual name, you should inform the candidate and their agent that it will not appear on the statement of persons nominated, the notice of poll or the ballot paper, but that their nomination as a candidate has not been affected. 

The only exception to this is where a prefix or suffix has been included as part of a commonly used name and that is how the candidate claims to be commonly known.

Where a candidate commonly uses a different name from their actual name, or commonly uses their names in a different way to those stated on the nomination paper, they can ask for their commonly used name(s) to be used instead of their actual name.1

A candidate can request to use a commonly used forename, surname or both. They may also use initials if they are commonly known by them.

For example, they may be known by their abbreviated name ‘Andy’, rather than their full first name ‘Andrew’. In that case, they can write ‘Andy’ into the commonly used forename box on the nomination form if they would rather that name appear on the ballot paper.

A candidate with a hyphenated surname may choose to use one part of their surname if this is how they are commonly known. For example, in the case of Andrew Smith-Roberts, he could use Andrew Roberts or Andrew Smith (if either was the name by which he is commonly known).

However, if a candidate has a title, they use this as their full name. For example, if the candidate's actual name is Joseph Smith, but their hereditary title is Joseph Avon, they can use the name Joseph Avon as their full name.

This table sets out a non-exhaustive list of potential variations: 

_{Decisions on Commonly Used Names}

It is not for you to decide whether the commonly used name is a ‘name’ that the candidate commonly used or whether it meets the legal requirements.  The law requires you to take whatever has been entered in the commonly used name box at face value and to accept it as the candidate’s commonly used name.

The only grounds you have in law for rejecting a commonly used name is that you consider that:2

• its use may be likely to mislead or confuse electors, or
• it is obscene or offensive 

It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that they have completed their nomination form in accordance with the law and to be satisfied that the given commonly used name is a name that they genuinely commonly use. 

In the course of providing informal advice, you may wish to draw the candidate’s attention to our guidance for candidates and agents on commonly used names.

The table below contains a number of worked examples of various combinations of commonly used names and how this would affect the appearance of the candidate’s name on the statement of persons nominated, the notice of poll and the ballot paper:

If either the commonly used forenames or commonly used surname box is left blank, then the candidate’s actual forenames or surname, depending on which commonly used name box has been left blank, will go on the statement of persons nominated, the notice of poll and on the ballot paper.

You should advise the candidate that the use of commonly used names applies only to the statement of persons nominated, the notice of poll and the ballot paper. The candidate’s actual name should appear on any documents that are required to show the candidate’s name, such as the imprint and the candidate’s spending returns.  

If you refuse the use of a commonly used name, the validity of the nomination form remains unaffected. Instead, the effect is that the candidate's full name will appear on the statement of persons nominated, the notice of poll and the ballot paper. This should be made clear to candidates and agents and you must write to the candidate setting out the reasons for refusing to allow the use of the commonly used name.1

Nomination forms must include an indication of support for the candidate from 100 electors registered on the local government electoral register, with at least 10 electors from each constituent council within the combined authority area.1 These are known as subscribers – the first two are the proposer and seconder, while the other electors are the assenters to the nomination.2
 
Where a county council is a constituent council, but only part of the county council area is contained within the combined authority area, the subscribers must be registered in that part of the county council area that is contained within the combined authority area.3  

Each subscriber is required by law to sign the nomination form and print their name in the appropriate place.4  Their elector number must be included in the spaces provided alongside their signature, along with the polling district’s identifying letters and the name of their local authority.5

You must reject a nomination if the nomination form is not subscribed as required.6

Signatures on nomination forms, once given, cannot be withdrawn by subscribers. If a subscriber contacts you to say that they wish to withdraw their subscription, you should inform them that this is not permitted by law and that the subscription remains valid.

Checking subscribers are on the register

Subscribers must appear on the local government register for a constituent council within the combined authority area that is in force on the last day for publication of notice of election. It is essential that the correct version of the register is used for checking that the subscribers are valid.

You will need to liaise with the local ROs/EROs across the combined authority area to ensure that you base your determination of the validity of subscribers on the relevant register update. 

A person who is shown on the register as being under 18 years old at the time of nomination can only subscribe a nomination form if they will be 18 years old on or before polling day.7

If, after you have determined a nomination, an elector is later removed from the register or dies before the election (or even before the nomination is delivered) their signature remains valid and the nomination is not affected.

As you must accept the nomination form at face value, you must accept that the signature made on the nomination form is that of the person listed on the register under the relevant elector number, even if the signature suggests another name. You may draw the attention of the person delivering the paper to the issue if you are concerned, but you must take the elector number and the signature at face value.8 If after having raised the issue you still have any concerns, you should raise these with your SPOC.

Only the required number of signatures for your combined authority area on any nomination form can be considered. If more subscribers are included than the number required to stand for election in your combined authority area, any subsequent names must not be considered at all.9 If one of the first of the required number of subscribers is invalid, irrespective of whether more subscribers have been added to the nomination form, the nomination must be held invalid.10

Crossed out subscribers’ names

Occasionally a mistake is made with the subscribers on a nomination form, and one or more of the names may be crossed out on the form. If the signature and elector number for a subscriber are clearly crossed out, you should ignore it and treat it as if that row did not appear at all. If asked, you should advise that any crossings out should be clear and, ideally, initialled.

You should not cross out any entry. If the entry that has been crossed out was that of a proposer or seconder, then the new proposer or seconder must be indicated. Where an entry has been crossed out, the first signatures from the required number of subscribers for your combined authority areas excluding that entry must still be valid for the nomination to be valid.

Candidates are required to complete a home address form, which must be delivered by hand, accompanied by the nomination paper, by the close of nominations. The form is not prescribed but the information that needs to be provided is set out in law. 

On the home address form the candidate must state:

• their full name
• their home address in full
• their qualifying address, or, where they have declared on their consent to nomination that they meet more than one qualification, their qualifying addresses
• which of the qualifications their qualifying address or addresses relate to
• the full name and the home address in full of the witness to the consent to nomination form 

The candidate’s home address:

• must be completed in full
• must not contain abbreviations
• must be their current home address 
• must not be a business address (unless the candidate runs a business from their home)

If any detail of the home address is wrong or omitted, the nomination is not automatically invalid if the description of the place is such as to be commonly understood.

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.

Candidates who don’t want their home address published

A candidate may choose for their home address not to be published on the statement of persons nominated or the ballot paper. 

In this case the home address form must contain, as well as the full name and home address:1

• a statement, signed by the candidate, which states that they require their home address not to be made public 
• if their home address is in the UK, the name of the relevant area in which their home address is situated 
• if they their home address is outside of the UK, the name of the country in which their home address is situated  

If the candidate chooses not to have their home address appear on the statement of persons nominated and the ballot paper, the relevant area in which the candidate’s home address is situated or, if they live outside the UK, the country in which they live must be printed instead.

Meaning of qualifying address and relevant area

Qualifying address means:

• where a candidate has selected option (a) on the consent to nomination, the address in full where they are registered as a local government elector
• where they have selected option (b) on the consent to nomination, the description and the address of that land or premises which they have occupied as owner or tenant
• where they have selected option (c) on the consent to nomination, the address of their place of work 
• where they have selected option (d) on the consent to nomination, the address or addresses in full of where they have resided

Relevant area means:

For home addresses in England:

• if the address is within a district for which there is a district council, that district
• if the address is within a county in which there are no districts with councils, that county
• if the address is within a London borough, that London borough
• if the address is within the City of London (including the Inner and Middle Temples), the City of London; and
• if the address is within the Isles of Scilly, the Isles of Scilly 

For home addresses in Wales:

• if the address is within a county, that county
• if the address is within a county borough, that county borough

For home addresses in Scotland:

• the local government area in which the address is situated

For home addresses in Northern Ireland:

• the local government district in which the address is situated

Candidates must formally consent to their nomination and deliver their consent by the deadline for delivery of nomination papers.1 The consent to nomination form is prescribed in the election rules and the candidate must use this form or a form to like effect.2 It must be submitted by hand and cannot be submitted by post, fax, email or other electronic means.3

The form must contain:

• a statement that they meet one or more of the qualifications for standing 
• their date of birth 

For candidates standing at combined authority mayoral elections the form must also contain:

• a statement that to the best of their knowledge and belief they are not disqualified from election as a combined authority mayor by reason of any disqualification set out in, or decision made under, paragraph 9 or 9A of Schedule 5B, of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, Section 34 of the Localism Act 2011, or Section 30 of the Elections Act 2022. Additionally, where a combined authority mayor is to exercise functions of a Police and Crime Commissioner, it will need to also state that they are not disqualified from election due to any disqualifications set out in, or decision made under, Sections 64 to 68 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011
• a copy of paragraph 9 or 9A of Schedule 5B to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, Section 34 of the Localism Act 2011 and, where a combined authority mayor is to exercise functions of a Police and Crime Commissioner, Sections 64 to 68 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 

For candidates standing at combined county authority mayoral elections the form must also contain:

• a statement that to the best of their knowledge and belief they are not disqualified from election as a combined county authority mayor by reason of any disqualification set out in, or decision made under, paragraph 8 or 9 of Schedule 2 to The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, Section 34 of the Localism Act 2011, or Section 30 of the Elections Act 2022. Additionally, where a combined county authority mayor is to exercise functions of a Police and Crime Commissioner, it will need to also state that they are not disqualified from election due to any disqualifications set out in, or decision made under, Sections 64 to 68 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011
• a copy of paragraph 8 or 9 of Schedule 2 to The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, Section 34 of the Localism Act 2011 and, where a combined authority mayor is to exercise functions of a Police and Crime Commissioner, Sections 64 to 68 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011

Candidates are not allowed to sign their consent form earlier than one calendar month before the deadline for submitting their nomination papers.5 The consent must also be witnessed by another person and the witness must attest the form.6  

The witness must provide their name on the consent form and the witness’s address must be provided on the home address form.7

There are no restrictions on who can be a witness to the consent to nomination.

You should remind any person delivering the nomination papers that it is a criminal offence to provide a false statement on nomination papers.1 If the nomination form includes a commonly used name, you should highlight that the offence also applies if a candidate has given a commonly used name that they do not actually commonly use.2 You may warn candidates that the penalty for a false statement is an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment of up to a year.3

You should not give advice on questions of candidates’ eligibility or disqualification but should direct them to our guidance for candidates and agents at combined authority mayoral elections in the first instance. You should advise them to seek their own legal advice should they have any further concerns.

Political parties can register up to 12 descriptions.1

You must check that the party name or description as given on the nomination form is registered on the Commission’s register of political parties and matches it exactly.2 If it does not, you must reject that nomination.3 To be able to use a party’s identifiers (i.e.name, description and emblem) the party must be registered on the Commission’s register of political parties and be listed as allowed to field candidates in England.4

Even if a registered party is well known, it is vital to check the register of political parties for the exact details of the party as registered with the Commission. 

In case of any future challenges, and to maintain a clear audit trail you should print a copy of the relevant part of the register of political parties showing the descriptions and party name at the time of your determination.

What descriptions may be used?
The legislation is precise about the use of descriptions. A candidate may only use one of the following descriptions:

• the word 'Independent' 5
• the registered party name of a registered political party6  
• one of the descriptions the party has registered with the Commission7  

Certificate of authorisation

If a candidate wishes to use a party name or description, this must be authorised by the party’s Nominating Officer (or a person authorised to act on their behalf).8

The candidate must submit a certificate of authorisation, signed by or on behalf of the party’s Nominating Officer, by the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers.

You can check who the Nominating Officer for a particular party is by referring to our register of political parties. However, as long as the person who has signed the certificate claims that they have been authorised to do so by the registered Nominating Officer, the certificate should be taken at face value.

Some candidates provide a document showing the delegation of powers to authorise the use of a party name or description to someone else (sometimes known as the ‘Local Nominating Officer certificate’ or ‘Deputy Nominating Officer certificate’).

There is no need for this document to be submitted as it is not part of the nomination paper and is therefore not required. Therefore, if it is supplied, it can be a copy.

A Nominating Officer may stand as a candidate. If this happens, the candidate, as Nominating Officer, may authorise their own description. A person authorised by the Nominating Officer to sign a certificate of authorisation may also be a candidate and sign a certificate for their own nomination.

The use of joint descriptions

Candidates standing on behalf of more than one registered party may use a joint description which is registered with the Commission. Such candidates must submit a certificate of authorisation issued by each of the parties’ Nominating Officers (or persons authorised to act on their behalf) by the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers.9

You can find joint descriptions listed on the register of political parties. To view them, go to the registration page for the relevant parties within the descriptions section, and in each case the description will be followed by the words ‘(Joint Description with the xx party)’.

For example ‘The Square and Circle Party Candidate (Joint Description with the Circle Party)’, which would be listed on the Square Party page. Please note that the words in brackets are for explanatory purposes only and do not form part of the description.

Political parties can also register up to 3 emblems.1

A candidate of a registered party can choose to have a registered emblem of the party they are representing displayed on the ballot paper.2

The candidate, not the election agent or the Nominating Officer, must make the request in writing. This request must be received by the deadline for delivery of nominations.3

To be able to use an emblem a candidate must have been authorised to use a party name or description other than ‘Independent’.

A candidate may also choose to use an emblem of their party without choosing to use an authorised description. They would need to provide the certificate of authorisation as well as the emblem request form but may choose not to include an authorised description on the nomination paper. 

If the party has more than one registered emblem, the candidate should specify which one they want to use. If the candidate does not specify one, or the registered party changes or removes the emblem from the register of political parties after the nomination papers have been submitted but before the close of nominations, you should try to contact the candidate and ask them to select one. You should also tell them that if they do not select a particular emblem before the close of nominations, you will not be able to print an emblem against their name on the ballot paper. 

The candidate may provide a high-resolution copy of the emblem for use in the printing of ballot papers, or may request that you download the emblem from the Commission’s website. You must ensure that whatever copy is used is in the same form as the registered emblem. 

The maximum size of an emblem on the ballot paper is set by the directions for printing. When adding a party emblem to a ballot paper, the shape of the emblem should not be altered. You must ensure that the emblem is in the same form as the registered emblem – for example, do not stretch emblems into square shapes if they are not registered as square images on our website, as this would have the effect of altering their appearance.

Candidates standing on behalf of more than one registered party who use a joint description may choose to use a registered emblem of one of the parties that have authorised the use of the description.4 There is no provision for joint emblems to be registered with the Commission.

A Zip file of emblem images will be available on our website. However, while the Zip file is a tool that can be used by your printer to prepare ballot papers, it is the information on the register of political parties that should be used for confirming which emblem to print on the ballot papers.

Our register of parties contains up-to-date information about political parties, registered descriptions and emblems, and shows which names, descriptions and emblems are currently registered for each party.

Changes up to the publication of the notice of election

Removals or substitution of any registered party descriptions on the Commission’s register of political parties may take effect up to and including the day before the actual date the notice of election is published. 

It is important to note that this is not the last day for publication of the notice of election but the date the notice is actually published.1   

Once the notice of election is published any such changes to any party descriptions do not apply for that election.2  

For example, if you decide to publish your notice of election before the last day that the notice must be published by law, it is possible that a nomination may be submitted which bears a registered party description that no longer appears on the register of parties. 

If the deletion of the description has taken effect after you have published your notice of election but before the last day for publication of notice of election, the deletion does not apply to your election and the ‘old’ description is still valid. In any such circumstances you can check with your local Commission team whether or not the submitted party description applies for your election. 

Changes up to two days before the final day for delivery of nomination papers

You should also note that parties may change their registered party name and emblems, and add any new description if they previously had registered fewer than 12 descriptions, at any time until two days before the final day for delivery of nominations for that election.3   

New parties must also be registered two days before the final day for delivery of nominations for that election, in order to use names, descriptions and emblems at that poll.

The table below sets out the deadlines for making changes to the register of political parties in the run up to a poll. After that point, any changes or deletions to any party descriptions do not apply for that election.4

Party description – not yet registered

Where a candidate attempts to submit a nomination paper bearing a description that has yet to be registered, you should advise the candidate not to formally submit the paper, but to take it back and submit it once the description has been successfully registered.

If a candidate formally submits their nomination form with a description that is not yet registered, you must determine the nomination invalid on the basis that, when the determination is made, the description provided does not match any registered with the Commission.5

You may wish to contact your local Commission team for confirmation that a description is not yet registered before making your determination.

In order to be validly nominated, a candidate or someone acting on the candidate’s behalf must deposit the sum of £5,000 with you.1 This sum must be paid by the close of nominations.2  
 
You must accept deposits made using:

• legal tender (cash in British pounds only) 
• a UK banker’s draft3

You may refuse to accept a banker’s draft if you do not know whether the drawer carries on business as a banker in the United Kingdom.4

You can also choose to accept funds by means of:

• a building society cheque 
• a debit or credit card 
• electronic transfer of funds5

You should accept building society cheques if they carry out business in the United Kingdom. You should also accept banker’s payments which are orders issued by a bank, guaranteeing payment to the recipient. In any case, you should make clear on the notice of election what methods of payment you will accept and make any requirements you have clear in the nomination pack.  

If the deposit is given to you by someone acting on behalf of the candidate, the person delivering the deposit must give you their name and address, unless they have already provided this information as part of their notification of appointment as an election agent.6

Where a candidate is not shown as standing nominated in the statement of persons nominated, the deposit must be returned as soon as practicable after the publication of the statement of persons nominated to the person who made the deposit or their personal representative.7

If there is a fee attached to the form of payment, you can pass this on to the candidate. If so, you should make this clear on the notice of election and the nomination pack.

This guidance explains the requirements for the delivery of nomination papers. It sets out what you should do to prepare for and undertake informal checking of papers before they are formally delivered and who can deliver nomination papers to you for submission.  

It also explains what papers must be submitted and how they should be completed in order for you to be able to determine them, along with the method of submission and who is entitled to deliver and attend the delivery of nomination papers. 
 

The purpose of an informal check is to check that a nomination paper appears to be complete in respect of all the legal requirements. When conducting an informal check you should make it clear that the nomination papers are being looked at informally only. 

This process allows you to highlight any errors which would invalidate the paper or which may give reason for a challenge following the election, allowing the opportunity for these to be corrected before being formally submitted. 

As part of your informal checks you may wish to highlight to candidates the updated rules regarding commonly used names. 

Once informal checks are complete, the papers will either be handed back, or if there are no amendments to be made, they may be formally submitted.  

The person delivering the nomination paper may choose not to wait for an informal check or may choose not to make any changes following advice given at the informal checking stage. If that is the case the paper should be considered as formally submitted and you should accept it at face value. 

All candidates and agents should be given an equal opportunity to access an informal check.

You should consider how you are going to manage this process, for example by putting in place an appointment system.
 

The deadline for the delivery of nominations is 4pm on the nineteenth working day before the poll.1

This deadline cannot be moved or extended for any reason. 

Nomination papers can be delivered to you between the hours of 10am and 4pm on any working day after the publication of the notice of election. 

A nomination paper is considered delivered when it is delivered by hand at the place specified in the notice of election.

For party candidates wishing to use a description and/or an emblem, you must also receive a certificate of authorisation and an emblem request form as applicable during the time specified for the delivery of nomination papers. 

No appointment is required for the delivery of nomination papers but you could offer and encourage appointments as a way to manage the potential volume of nominations that you will receive during the period for nominations. 

The candidate is responsible for making sure that their nomination papers are delivered in the correct way and by the required deadline. If a completed set of nomination papers and the deposit have not been delivered by that time, the nomination is treated as not having been made which means that you cannot rule the nomination valid or invalid.2

Nomination papers must be delivered to the location specified by you on the notice of election.1

The address given for the delivery of nomination papers should be exact and include any room name or number. This ensures there can be no doubt about where a nomination paper should be delivered.

You should:

• ensure that only you or your staff take delivery of nomination papers at the specified location
• clearly signpost the location from the building entrance 
• ensure the route is fully accessible or provide an appropriately signposted alternative
• give details to other local authority staff, such as reception staff, of what to do if a person tries to deliver a nomination paper to them and make it clear that they:
  • should not handle nomination papers
  • should not offer to deliver them
  • should instead direct the person delivering the forms to you

You or an appointed deputy must be present throughout the period for nominations and the period for objections.2

There are no restrictions on who can deliver nomination papers or home address forms. You should advise candidates that they, their agent, or someone they trust delivers them, so they can be sure they are delivered to you in time.

Except for the purpose of delivering nomination papers, only certain people are entitled to attend the delivery of nomination papers and to inspect and make any objections to the validity of a nomination form or a home address form.

After a candidate has delivered their nomination papers and deposit and they stand validly nominated, they are entitled to attend the delivery of other candidates’ nomination papers and make objections to the validity of a nomination form or a home address form.1 In addition to the candidate, the following persons will also be able to attend and make objections:

• their election agent
• their proposer or seconder, as stated on the nomination form2  

If a candidate is their own election agent, they can appoint one other person to attend the delivery of nomination papers and make objections to the validity of a nomination form or a home address form.3 If a candidate has submitted more than one nomination form, only the proposer and seconder from the nomination form they have selected will be entitled to attend.4 If none has been selected, it will be the proposer and seconder of the first submitted nomination form who will have that entitlement.5

Nomination papers cannot be inspected by anybody else at any time. 

Electoral Commission representatives and one other person chosen by a validly nominated candidate can also be present at the delivery of nomination papers, but they are not allowed to inspect or make any objections.6

You must keep the nomination papers securely and allow inspection of the nomination papers by the persons permitted to inspect these until the deadline for making objections to the nomination papers.

Once the deadline for making objections has passed, you should store the nomination papers securely for one year after the election.

The original version of each completed document must be submitted.

The nomination form, home address form and consent to nomination must be delivered by hand and cannot be submitted by post, fax, email or other electronic means.1 This includes delivery by a courier.

Certificates of Authorisation and emblem request forms may be delivered by hand or by post, but cannot be submitted by fax, email or other electronic means.2 This is because a document that is printed out is not an original document – it would be a copy document. 

For a document to become a certificate (as required for a Certificate of Authorisation) it requires a method of authentication to make it a certificate.3 In most cases, the authentication takes the form of a signature to attest the truth of the facts stated. A seal could also be used. 

Whatever method of authentication is used, the document you receive must be the original document and not a copy document.

You should take steps to communicate the requirements relating to delivery of nomination papers to all prospective candidates and agents, and ensure that these requirements are highlighted in any briefings or guidance you produce.

Once a nomination paper has been formally delivered, no changes can be subsequently made to it (subject to your power to correct minor errors). At the point of formal submission you should therefore endorse the paper with the date and time of delivery, so that you have a record of when each paper was formally submitted. If a candidate later decides that they want to make changes, for example to the description, they should withdraw their candidature and then submit new nomination papers within the statutory timeframe. There is no provision to allow a subscriber to withdraw their signature from a nomination paper once it has been delivered.  
 

Nomination forms, home address forms and consent to nomination forms cannot be delivered by post. 

Only the certificate of authorisation and emblem request can be received by post.

Any certificates of authorisation and emblem requests received by post should be stored securely until required and collated with corresponding nomination papers delivered by hand as appropriate.

You should have a process in place to monitor your incoming mail to ensure it does not contain nomination papers that must be delivered by hand.

If you receive a nomination paper, home address form or consent to nomination form by post, you should try to contact the candidate and explain:

• that their nomination form, home address form and consent to nomination cannot be accepted by post
• that they (or someone on their behalf) needs to hand deliver these in accordance with the rules
• that it is their responsibility to ensure that this is done by the deadline
• that they do not need to produce new nomination papers or obtain new subscribers

You should keep any nomination papers you receive by post so they can be collected and then delivered to you by hand. You and your staff are not permitted to deliver the forms for the candidate.

The candidate is deemed not to have been nominated if:

• you receive a nomination form, home address form or consent to nomination by post1  
• you have not received all of the required nomination forms by the deadline for delivery of nomination papers 

You cannot determine forms which have not been delivered or take any decision as to whether these papers are valid.2

There is no limit to the number of nomination forms that may be delivered for the same candidate. 

If a candidate is validly nominated by more than one form: 

• the candidate should choose one of the valid nomination forms - to be known as the 'selected' nomination form 
• details on this selected nomination form should be added to the statement of persons nominated and the ballot paper1

If the candidate cannot or does not do this, then you must choose which one of the forms will be used.2

If more than one nomination form is delivered and one of the nomination forms is invalid:

• that form is excluded from the forms that can be chosen by the candidate or yourself 
• as long as at least one nomination form is valid, the candidate can be validly nominated

Determining nomination and home address forms after formal delivery

A candidate who delivers completed nomination papers and pays the deposit by the required deadline will be deemed nominated unless:

• you decide that the nomination form is invalid or the home address form hasn’t been completed correctly 
• a candidate dies or withdraws before the deadline1  

You must determine the validity of a nomination form and home address form as soon as is practicable after formal delivery.2 The sooner you carry out the formal determination, the greater the chance of those candidates who have made a mistake and whose nomination has been rejected being able to submit new papers before the close of nominations. 

The Elections Act 2022 has updated the grounds on which you can determine a nomination invalid. For more information see our guidance on Determining a nomination to be invalid.

We have produced a checklist to assist you with processing nomination forms. 

Accepting nominations at face value

You must not:

• undertake any investigation or research into any candidate. Your duty does not go beyond seeing that a nomination form and home address form is correct on face value3

You should not:

• investigate whether a name given on a nomination form is genuine

You should:

• disregard any personal knowledge you may already have of the candidate 
• determine nominations on the basis of the form itself

Grounds for determining a nomination form invalid

By law, the only grounds that you have for determining that a nomination form is invalid are:  

• that the particulars of the candidate or the persons subscribing the nomination form are not as required by law, or
• that the form is not subscribed as required
• that the person is subject to a disqualification order under section 30 of the Elections Act 2022

Particulars of the candidate

The particulars of the candidate include the description given on the nomination paper, therefore, you must hold the nomination invalid if: 

• the party does not appear on the Commission’s register of political parties as a party that can contest elections in England
• the party name or description used on the nomination form does not exactly match the party name or description as registered with the Commission
• the use of the party name or description has not been authorised by a certificate of authorisation signed by or on behalf of the party’s Nominating Officer
• the description is not registered by the Commission1  

There is case law that provides that candidates who give descriptions that are obscene, racist or an incitement to crime should be considered to have provided particulars that are “not as required by law”. This is because they contravene the law and/or will inevitably involve the Returning Officer in a breach of the law.

If the nomination form does not comply with the description rules outlined above, you must give a decision to this effect as soon as practicable after the delivery of the nomination form and, in any event, no later than 24 hours after the deadline for delivery of nomination papers.2

We have 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. 

Subscribers

Our section ‘Nomination form - subscribers requirements’ contains detailed information on subscribers.

If a nomination is not subscribed as required it must be deemed invalid. 

Failure to provide a deposit

If you have not received the required £5000 deposit or any of the required nomination papers by the deadline for the submission of nomination papers, the candidate has not been validly nominated.3 There is then no need to make a formal determination, and their name should not appear on the statement of persons nominated or the ballot paper.

Return of deposit due to nomination not being valid

You must return the deposit of any candidate whose nomination you have rejected. The deposit must be returned to the person who made it and as soon as practicable after the statement of persons nominated has been published.4 For guidance on returning deposits to validly nominated candidates after an election see Post election activity.

Ground for determining a home address form invalid

You must determining that the home address form does not comply with legal requirements if:5

• it does not state the candidate’s full name
• it does not state the candidate’s home address in full

For more information about the requirements see our guidance on the home address form.

Sham nominations

You may come across a situation where the candidate's nomination is clearly a sham - for example, if a candidate has given an obviously fictitious name or address such as 'Mickey Mouse of Disney Land'. In such a case the nomination paper must be held to be invalid on the grounds that the candidate’s particulars are not as required by law.6

When considering the name, the primary consideration should be whether the “name” that has been provided on the nomination form appears to be “obviously fictitious” on the face of the paper.

If the “name” does not appear to be a genuine name and instead appears to be a statement or slogan, for example, you may consider that it is “obviously fictitious”. 

Any conclusion would be supported by considering the wider context. For example, does the name appear to be a political slogan made in response to topical political events, rather than the genuine name of a real person? 

A court would likely in those circumstances conclude that such names are “obviously fictitious” and that the nomination form should be rejected.

Once you have decided that a nomination is valid, it cannot be challenged during the election, although it may be challenged after the election by way of an election petition.1

If you have made a formal determination but then, as a result of an objection, later decide that the nomination form should in fact have been determined as invalid, you can make a further determination to this effect.

If a nomination form is determined to be invalid you must:2

• state that fact on the nomination form,
• write on it the reasons for rejection on the form
• sign the form

In both cases you must send notice of the decision that a nomination form is valid or invalid to each candidate at their home address.3 This should be done as soon as practicable after your decision has been made.

A candidate can withdraw their candidature if they do so before the deadline.1 A withdrawal notice is not prescribed but we do provide a template withdrawal notice for candidates to use. 

A notice of withdrawal must be:2  

• signed by the candidate
• attested by one witness
• delivered by hand to the place for the delivery of nomination papers
• delivered by 4pm on the nineteenth working day before the poll

There are no restrictions on who can deliver the notice of withdrawal.3

If the candidate is not in the UK, a withdrawal will be effective if it is:  

• signed by the proposer 
• accompanied by a written declaration that the candidate is abroad (also signed by the proposer)
• delivered to you by 4pm on the nineteenth working day before the poll (i.e. by the deadline for withdrawals)4

If the candidate was nominated by more than one nomination form, each proposer must sign the withdrawal notice and declaration.5

If any of the proposers are outside the UK they do not need to sign the withdrawal notice, but it must include a statement that they are also outside the UK.6

Alternatively, instead of the notice and declaration being signed by all proposers, the withdrawal will be effective if the notice and declaration is accompanied by a written statement signed by the candidate that the proposer giving the notice is authorised to do so on the candidate’s behalf.7

The details of any candidates who by the close of withdrawals remain nominated must be printed on the ballot papers.8 If a candidate has not withdrawn by the deadline, their details must go forward to the ballot paper.

Return of deposit due to withdrawal

You must return the deposit of any candidate who has withdrawn their candidature. The deposit must be returned to the person who made it and as soon as practicable after the statement of persons nominated has been published.9 For guidance on returning deposits to validly nominated candidates after an election see our guidance on post election activity.

Subject to your power to correct minor errors no changes can be made to a nomination paper once it has been formally delivered. 

Correction of minor errors

The information is this section explains how to deal with minor errors and you must have regard to this.1

You can, by law, correct minor errors made on nomination or home address forms at any time before you publish the statement of persons nominated.2

You should attempt to contact the candidate or agent before making any minor error amendment.

This table sets out some of the minor errors which can be corrected and guidance about exercising your power to correct minor errors. You should contact us for advice when considering correcting minor errors.

Certain people may object to the validity of a nomination form or a home address form. More information on who can object to nominations can be found in the attendance at nominations section.

Objections can be made on the last day for the receipt of nominations, which is the nineteenth working day before the poll.1

Timetable for objections

The time within which an ordinary objection can be made depends on when the nomination papers are delivered.2

You should consider any objection that you receive during the allowed time for objections to be made.

You are only entitled to hold a nomination paper and home address form invalid on the 
following grounds:

• the particulars of the candidate or the subscribers are not as required by law 
• that the form is not subscribed as required

You should not undertake any investigation or hear any representations in support of or challenging any fact or statement given on the nomination form.

You should limit the objection process to the nomination form and the home address form. 

Where you decide that, as a result of an objection, a nomination you have already determined should have been ruled invalid, you must:

• show on the statement of persons nominated that the candidate is no longer validly nominated 
• the reason why they no longer stand nominated 

You should inform the candidate as appropriate.1  

For more information see section Determining a nomination is invalid.

After the close of nominations you must publish a statement of persons nominated and a notice of poll.1

You can find more information on the content of these notices in our guidance on Statement of persons nominated and Notice of poll.

As you will now know which candidates are standing in your area, it is important to revisit your project plan and risk register. You should check whether they are still suitable or if any amendments are needed to ensure that processes run smoothly, safely and efficiently.

Factors to consider could include the number of candidates standing, the level of experience that the candidates and the political parties represented have of standing for election and their knowledge of electoral processes, as well as any local risks or issues that could require specific management by local ROs at the polling stations or the count. 

Where you have made arrangements to do so, you should also forward the email and phone contact details of candidates standing in the election to the force elected-official adviser (FEOA). You should ensure that candidates are aware of how their information will be used and provide them with the opportunity to opt out if necessary. For more information, see our guidance for Returning Officers at local elections on working with your local police force.

Nomination as combined authority mayor and as a councillor for a constituent council

A person cannot sit as both a combined authority mayor and a local councillor of a constituent council. If they are already an elected councillor and are subsequently elected as mayor, their office as councillor will become vacant.2

Nomination as combined county authority mayor and as a councillor for a constituent council

A person cannot sit as both a combined county authority mayor and a local councillor of a constituent council. If they are already an elected councillor and are subsequently elected as mayor, their office as councillor will become vacant.3

Uncontested elections 

The election is uncontested if either:

• only one valid nomination is received
• all valid nominations are properly withdrawn by the deadline except one 

If the election is uncontested, you must, as soon as practicable, declare the remaining validly nominated candidate elected.3

You must give public notice of the name and should include the description (if any) of the elected candidate.4

You must inform the Proper Officer of the combined authority of the result of the election, and you should take steps to ensure that each local RO publishes the result in their constituent council area.5

You are required to publish a statement of persons nominated for the combined authority area by no later than 4pm on the eighteenth working day before the poll.1

Contents of the statement of persons nominated

The statement of persons nominated must include the following information for all candidates who are validly nominated:

• name2  
• home address (or, if they have requested not to make their home address public, the name of the relevant area in which their home address is situated, or the country if their home address is situated outside the UK)3  
• description (if any)4  

It must also include those who no longer stand nominated and the reason why (i.e. those who have withdrawn or whose nomination you have rejected).5  

Your privacy notice should make clear that you are required under electoral legislation to publish a candidate’s name and address information in the statement of persons nominated. You can find more information in our data protection guidance.

Ordering of names on the statement of persons nominated

The names of the candidates on the statement must be listed in alphabetical order of their surname;6 this is also how they will appear on the ballot paper.7

If there are two or more candidates with the same surname, the alphabetical order of the other names will decide which candidate is listed first.8

Where a candidate has requested the use of a commonly used name on their nomination form, the commonly used name must be shown on the statement instead of the actual name.9

Where a candidate has requested the use of a commonly used surname, the candidate’s alphabetical position on the statement of persons nominated (and on the ballot paper) must be made by reference to their commonly used surname.10

If, however, you have rejected the use of any commonly used name as you think it is likely to mislead or confuse electors, or is obscene or offensive, the actual name must be published on the statement of persons nominated instead of the commonly used name.11

Considerations where a candidate has asked for their home address not to be published

If more than one validly nominated candidate has:

• asked for their home address not to be published, and 
• has provided the same relevant area of the UK, or otherwise from the same country 

You must consider if two or more of them have the same or so similar a name that they are likely to cause confusion.12

If you consider that this is the case, you may add such details from their home address or nomination form as you consider appropriate to reduce the likelihood of confusion.

You must consult the candidate(s) affected, if it is practicable to do so, before you make a decision on which details should be included on the statement of persons nominated. 

You must give notice in writing to the affected candidate(s) informing them of the additional information that will be published.13

You should provide each local RO with a copy of the statement as soon as it is published for local publication.

We have published a template statement of persons nominated that you can use for the combined authority mayoral election.

You should have robust proof-checking processes in place to ensure that there are no errors on the statement of persons nominated. You can find more information about proof checking in our quality assurance guidance, and you can find a quality assurance checklist.
 

If the election is contested you must publish a notice of poll for the combined authority area by no later than the sixth working day before poll.1

The notice of poll must state:

• the date and hours of the poll2  
• the particulars of the candidates remaining validly nominated, and the order of the names must be the same as in the statement of persons nominated3  
• the names of all persons subscribing a candidate’s nomination paper4

Legislation requires the particulars of the candidates on the notice of poll to be the same as on the statement of persons nominated. You must ensure that where a has chosen to have their home address withheld from the ballot paper and statement of persons nominated, the home address must not be included on the notice of poll either.5

Your privacy notice should make clear that you are required under electoral legislation to publish a candidate’s name and address, and the names of subscribers, in the notice of poll. You can find more information in our guidance on data protection.

It is not a legal requirement for the notice of poll to be published locally by local ROs. However, you should still take steps to ensure that a copy is published in each constituent council, including by ensuring that local ROs either provide a link from their website to the notice you have published, or provide a copy directly on their website so that all electors in the combined authority can easily access it. 

You should also provide a copy to all candidates and agents as soon as practicable after its publication.

We have published a template notice of poll that you can use for the combined authority mayoral election.

Local ROs at a standalone combined authority mayoral election, and the Returning Officer or Counting Officer taking on the combined functions where polls are combined, must publish a notice of the situation of polling stations for their area by no later than the time you publish the notice of poll).1 You should therefore let local ROs know when you are planning to publish the notice of poll.

Local ROs must give a copy of the notice of situation of polling stations to all election agents as soon as practicable after giving the notice and should also provide a copy to candidates and to you.2 The notice should also be made available to accredited observers on request.

As part of your consideration about how best to provide information to candidates and agents in a coordinated and consistent manner, you should liaise with the local ROs, and local government ROs (as appropriate) to decide how best they can discharge their duty to provide copies of the notice of situation of polling stations to candidates and agents, enabling them to easily access this information for the whole of the combined authority area. 

As part of your discussions, you should consider whether the notices will be collated and disseminated centrally by you.

In the event of the death of a candidate during the election period, the procedure to be followed at a combined authority mayoral election depends on the time when you receive proof of the death of the candidate. It is the time when you receive proof of the candidate’s death that is the relevant factor, not the actual time of death. 

Proof of death received before polls open

If proof of the death of a validly nominated candidate at a contested election is received before the opening of the poll, you must countermand the notice of poll and the poll does not take place.1 A new election must be held.2

Proof of death received after polls have opened and before the declaration of result

If proof of the death of a validly nominated candidate at a contested election is received after the opening of the poll but before the declaration of result, you must direct that the poll is abandoned3 and a new election must be held.4  

In this instance, because the poll will have started, the documentation (i.e. issued and un-issued ballot papers, etc.) must be returned to the relevant Returning Officer and sealed up in the normal way.5

Any postal votes received back must also be sealed in packets and any envelopes not opened at the time of the notification of the death must be sealed in packets unopened.6

Timetable for the new election due to the death of a candidate

In the event that a new election is required where the poll has been countermanded or abandoned due to a candidate’s death, we will be available to support you in identifying and taking the appropriate actions.

At a combined authority mayoral election, you are required by law to produce a booklet that includes election addresses from candidates at the election and are responsible for the delivery of it to each person entitled to vote at the combined authority mayoral election.1

A candidate’s election address must be prepared by their election agent and submitted to you by 4pm on the nineteenth working day before the poll (i.e. by the last time for the delivery of nominations).2  

Although it is not a requirement to include the deadline for the delivery of election addresses on the notice of election, you should include it to provide clarity to candidates and agents. Further information on the notice of election is included in our guidance on Production and publication of election notices. 

You must only include an election address in the booklet if it is a statement prepared on behalf of a candidate by their election agent that complies with certain legal requirements.

Booklet containing candidates’ addresses

Each candidate at a combined authority mayoral election may provide an election address to the CARO for publication in a booklet to be sent to every eligible elector in the combined local authority area.3

As part of your planning, you will need to consider how you are going to manage this process in practice. As CARO, you have a legal duty to ensure the text included complies with legislative requirements.4 Guidance on the production of the mayoral booklet is included in our section on Production and delivery of the booklet. 

You will need to ensure that the booklet containing the election addresses of candidates who have contributed to the production of the booklet is issued in sufficient time to help voters make an informed choice. You should liaise closely with local ROs on a dispatch date so that the first issue of postal votes can be co-ordinated, as far as possible, with the dispatch of the booklet.

An election address must:

• be submitted to you by 4pm on the nineteenth working day before the poll (i.e. by the last time for the delivery of nominations)1  
• contain matter relating to the combined authority mayoral election only2  
• contain a statement to the effect that it has been prepared by the candidate’s election agent3  
• give the name and address of the election agent 4  
• give the name and the home address of each candidate or, if they have requested not to make their home address public, the relevant electoral area as given on the home address form5
• be printed on no more than two sides of A5 paper.6 If the election address exceeds one side of A5, be accompanied by a second version of the address that must not exceed one side of A5 paper. If there are more than 15 candidates at the election, the version to be included in the booklet must be this second version7  
• comply with any typographical layout, margin and colour requirements that you determine8  
• comply with any other requirements with a view to facilitating the reproduction of the address as a page or pages of the election booklet as you determine 9

An election address must not:

• contain any advertising material (other than material promoting the candidate as a candidate at the combined authority mayoral election)10  
• contain any material referring to any other candidate for election at the combined authority mayoral election11
• contain any material appearing to you to be included with a view to commercial gain12  
• contain a representation of an emblem of a registered political party registered with the Commission unless the address was prepared on behalf of that party’s authorised candidate (i.e. the candidate’s nomination was accompanied by the nomination deadline by a valid certificate of authorisation)13  
• contain a party description or joint description registered with the Commission unless the candidate’s address was prepared on behalf of that party or those parties jointly (i.e. the candidate’s nomination was accompanied by the nomination deadline by a valid certificate of authorisation or certificates of authorisation for joint candidates)14

An election address may (as long as it meets the above requirements):

• include a picture of the candidate
• be formatted as the candidate wishes including using any combination of words, pictures and artwork15

If the address is to contain a photograph of the candidate, the candidate must provide two identical copies of that photograph. One copy must be signed on the back by the candidate.16 If the address is to contain anything else as part of that address, you may reasonably require any number of copies of it in connection with the reproduction of the election address.17

You must consider whether all of the above requirements have been complied with. If any requirement has not been complied with you must not include that election address in the booklet.18
 

You must produce a booklet with the election addresses of all candidates who have submitted a valid election address to you by the close of nominations (i.e. by 4pm on the nineteenth working day before the poll).1 The order of the addresses in the booklet must be decided by you by drawing lots.2

Lots must be drawn as soon as reasonably practicable after the close of nominations.3

Candidate payment towards printing cost

You may require candidates to contribute to the costs of printing of the booklet.4 The amount of the payment that you require is to be decided by you and you should be clear how that payment is to be made. The amount must be:

• reasonable
• the same for each candidate
• based on a contribution made by candidates towards the expenses incurred in printing the booklet (and not include any amount relating to the postage or delivery of the booklet)5  

You must decline to include any candidate’s election address where the payment has not been made as you require.6

Your statement

You may include in the booklet, along with the candidate’s election addresses, your own statement.7

Your statement may include:

• an explanation of the purpose of the booklet 8
• an alphabetical list of all candidates at the election (whether or not they are in the booklet)9
• the date of the election and the deadlines for registration and absent voting applications10  
• any other information relating to the election that you determine11  

You must include a statement stating that it is published by you and giving your name and address and that of your printer.12

Reviewing the proof

You must notify every election agent of a candidate who has provided an election address and, where you have accepted it for inclusion in the booklet, of the time and place where they may check the election addresses in the booklet and submit typographical corrections to the proof of the booklet before it is printed.13

You may, if any candidate or their agent does not review the proof, make your own correction of typographical errors in an election address if you think it is appropriate.14 You should, however, attempt to contact the candidate or agent to clarify your corrections.

Delivery of the booklet

You must print the booklet and place each copy in an envelope.15 You must then deliver one copy to each elector on the electoral register who is eligible to vote at the election.16 The postage or delivery costs must be paid by the combined authority (either directly or by reclaim/invoice).17

Return of candidate payment for printing cost

You should keep a record of the costs of printing the booklet separately from all other costs. If the payments made by the candidates exceed the total cost of printing, the balance must be divided equally between the candidates who submitted payment (whether or not the candidate’s election address was included in the final booklet) and returned to them.18

Candidates who withdraw before the deadline for withdrawals must have all of the payment they have made returned to them and should not be included in the booklet.19 With the exception of equally returning any overpayment as above, there is no provision to return the payment for any other reason where an election address is not included in the booklet.

This section is intended to help you make decisions about some of the key aspects of delivering the verification and the counting of the votes, such as managing the collation of the result, as well as developing plans for managing attendance and observation. 

It provides guidance to support the key decisions you need to make, and highlights recommended approaches to assist you in understanding and discharging your duties to ensure that there is transparency in the process and enabling you to deliver an accurate result in which voters, candidates and political parties have confidence.

You should work closely with local ROs in your area to help to inform any decisions you take about how counting and result collation will be organised and managed across the combined authority area. 

You should plan and complete your consultation, dialogue and decision-making in good time, before the formal election campaign period begins, to enable your decisions to be communicated to local ROs so that they can reflect them in their planning for the verification and count. You should also engage with any other stakeholders that have an interest, such as candidates, political parties, voters and the media. 

While you should seek input from those affected or interested to inform your decision-making, ultimately the responsibility for making decisions remains with you as CARO.

One of the aspects of the election process where you will particularly want to ensure that there is consistency is the verification and counting of votes and collation of the result. You will need to take a decision when, where and how the votes are verified and counted.

You may choose to hold the count at a central location or allow for counts to be held locally in some or parts of the constituent authorities. However the verification and count are organised, you should ensure that local ROs’ plans will deliver a consistent standard of administration.   

In developing your plans, you should have regard to the Commission’s principles for a well-run verification and count and consider other practical factors that may affect the organisation and timing of the verification and count. You can find more information about the count in our guidance on verifying and counting the votes.    

You should record all decisions regarding the verification and count and communicate these to those affected, bearing in mind that there may be different arrangements in place in different parts of the combined authority area.

If different arrangements will be in place in different parts of the combined authority area, you should ensure that you communicate clearly to candidates and agents, and others who may be attending or observing verification or count processes, which aspects of those processes may differ, and why.

You should put in place robust protocols for the two-way communication of verification and count information between you and local ROs, including verification figures and the communication of local count totals. 

Where the election is combined with another election, effective co-operation between the different Returning Officers across the combined authority area will be vital due to the increased complexity and volume of ballot papers.

You should ensure that your verification and count arrangements can deliver the following key principles for an effective verification and count:

• All processes are transparent, with a clear and unambiguous audit trail. For example:
  • everything is carried out in clear view of all those entitled to attend
  • sufficient information is provided to attendees on the processes to be followed
  • communication of information is consistent and open

• The secrecy of the vote is maintained at all times
• The security of ballot papers and other stationery is maintained at all times

• The verification produces an accurate result. This means that the number of ballot papers in each box either matches the number of ballot papers issued as stated on the ballot paper account or, if it does not:
  • the source of the variance has been identified and can be explained and/or
  • the box has been recounted at least twice, until the same number of papers is counted on two consecutive occasions

• The count produces an accurate result, where
  • the total number of votes cast for each candidate and rejected votes matches the total number of ballot papers given on the verification statement for the election

• The verification, count and result collation are timely

In developing a result collation process, you will need to consider each key stage that contributes to the overall result, including verifying the ballot papers and counting the votes in each of the areas within the combined authority area, collating any local totals and calculating the result, and ensure that these are organised, managed and delivered in such a way as to ensure these principles can be met.

In addition to considering how to ensure that your processes will enable you to meet the key principles, you should consider other relevant practical factors that will affect the organisation and timing of the verification, count and result collation such as:

• other polls taking place in the combined authority area
• the number of local authorities within the combined authority area
• turnout
• the geography of the combined authority area
• size, capacity and availability of venues
• the ability to ensure transparency for candidates, agents and observers at the venues
• the cost of using the venues

As CARO, you and the project team will agree the approach to be taken in respect of the timing of the verification and the count. Where polls are combined, you will need to liaise with the relevant local RO in the area and make decisions as early as possible in the process. 

As prescribed in legislation, at a combined authority mayoral election that is not combined with another poll, local ROs must begin verifying the ballot paper accounts and counting the votes as soon as practicable after the close of poll.1 You should agree a time when local ROs should start the verification process.

Where the polls are combined, the verification will be carried out by the relevant RO as soon as practicable after the close of poll and the local RO must start the count as soon as practicable after the delivery of the ballot papers to them, ensuring any additional verification of votes received is duly completed. 

As CARO, you will need to consider the timing of the verification, count and result calculation across the whole of the combined authority area, and how you will ensure local ROs are able to deliver to these timings. 

The overarching principle that should underpin any Returning Officers’ decision-making in relation to the timing of election counts is the need to ensure an accurate result in which voters and candidates have confidence. 

As CARO you should consider this principle carefully in deciding when, where and how the votes in each area will be verified and counted. You need to ensure that you are confident that both your and local ROs’ processes are managed and resourced in a way that enables counting to produce a timely outcome. 

Your decision as to the timing of the verification and count should reflect the following:

• Each combined authority mayoral election is a single poll producing one result for the combined authority area as a whole. Each local authority area’s total counts towards a result for the combined authority area as a whole and it will therefore be important to identify a defined period of time during which all the votes will be counted and totals announced for each area.
• The result of the election must be accurate. Underpinning the approach to the timing of the verification and count is the need to ensure an accurate result in which voters and candidates can have confidence. This means that the period of time specified for the verification and count to take place must be such that local ROs can resource and conduct a well-run verification and count process within it.
• The potential for, and extent of, combined polls in the combined authority area. Where polls are combined, whether in some or all local authority areas, you will need to take this into account in identifying the options for timing of the verification and counting of the votes for the combined authority mayoral election. You should:
  • obtain information from local ROs about the other polls taking place and plans for verification and counting at the other polls, and use this information to inform your planning assumptions 
  • make clear when you communicate the plans for when to verify and count the votes what factors related to combination you have taken into account in making them, and any particular implications of your decisions for areas with combined polls
  • ensure that you provide candidates and agents at the combined authority election with information for all areas, highlighting where combination exists and has had an impact on the decision, including where this has resulted in different arrangements being in place 
  • keep your plans under review to deal with any emerging situations, such as by-elections being called for the same day as the combined authority mayoral election poll.

There are a variety of ways in which the verification and count can be organised across the combined authority area, and you will need to decide which is the best option for your area, based on your local circumstances and those of the local ROs and, where relevant, other Returning Officers in your combined authority area. 

At a standalone combined authority mayoral election, local ROs are responsible for the verification of the ballot paper accounts and the counting of the votes for their area.1

On completion of the verification procedure at a standalone combined authority mayoral election, local ROs must inform you of the contents of the verification statement, i.e. the total number of ballot papers counted. 

If the votes are counted at a different venue to where verification takes place, local ROs must seal the verified ballot papers in packets with contents lists and send them, along with the ballot paper accounts and the verification statement, to the count venue.2

Where the poll at a combined authority mayoral election has been combined with the poll at another election, the relevant Returning Officer will be responsible for verifying the ballot papers at all polls.3 The local RO will, however, remain responsible for the counting of the votes for their area. Where polls have been combined, you should liaise with the relevant Returning Officer to ensure consistency in the verification across the combined authority area.  

Where polls have been combined, all ballot papers for all elections must be verified before the count for any of the polls can begin. 

Where polls have been combined, you will need to obtain the verification statement from the relevant Returning Officer to enable you to check the local count totals against the verification statement and identify any potential variances. Local ROs must also inform you of the contents of the statement of local count totals, once it has been prepared.4

Where polls are combined, you will need to liaise as early in the planning process as possible with your project team and decide the way the verification and count will be organised in your area to achieve the more effective and transparent process. You can find more information about verification and count in our Returning Officer guidance: managing verification and managing the count. 

There are two options for organising the count processes for the election in the combined authority area: 

• Individual local counts and central collation by the CARO: This option would see the verification and counting of the votes take place in local count venues, with the local totals being forwarded to you at a central hub. In this case, you would need to ensure that the process in place for the transmission and receipt of totals from each local RO to the central hub is capable of establishing a clear audit trail, is timely, and supports the development of an accurate result.
• A central combined authority area count: There are two main variations of a centralised count: a count where votes are verified locally before being transferred to a central counting venue, where all of the votes for the combined authority area would then be counted; or a count where votes for all areas are both verified and counted in one central counting venue. 

There are, however, variations within these two options and the potential for other ways of organising counts within a combined authority area. For example, across a combined authority area some local authority areas could count locally, while others come together and hold counts on a more centralised basis. 

You should liaise closely with the local ROs in your area when deciding on the approach. In areas where the poll at the combined authority mayoral election is combined with the poll at another election, you should work closely with the relevant Returning Officers to agree an approach. Whichever option is chosen, there will be risks and benefits associated with it. You will need to identify these when you develop your proposals for consultation and, once a decision has been made, work with local ROs (or the relevant Returning Officers in case of combined polls) to plan how you will manage and mitigate the risks. 

These are some of the key factors you will need to consider in deciding how to organise and manage the verification and counting of the votes in your combined authority area: 

• Consistency of approach: local ROs and their staff will have past experience of running election counts in their area and will have their own processes and workflows that they are used to following. While this knowledge and experience will be useful in helping to decide how best to organise and manage the verification and counting, you should consider how you will ensure consistency in the approach to verification and counting across the combined authority area, regardless of where the processes are to be carried out.
• Staff resources and availability: The identification, recruitment and training of sufficient, capable staff to conduct the count will also be a key consideration. For example, depending on the geography of the combined authority area it may be more difficult to recruit the necessary numbers of suitable staff to work in a central location than it would be to recruit people to work at a venue closer to their home, who are also more likely to be experienced staff who have worked on election counts in the past.
• Deployment of staff: You should also consider how to make the most efficient use of staff. If count staff are in one (or several) central locations they can be deployed flexibly to maximise productivity in the interests of a timely outcome to the count. If staff are at separate local count centres it is likely that count staff in some areas may have completed the process while others are still counting. You will need to consider how to ensure that the count arrangements enable all constituent authority areas to complete their counting within a reasonable time of each other.
• Venues: Any venues used will need to be of a sufficient size and capacity to accommodate the necessary processes and staff and enable processes to be carried out effectively and in clear view of those entitled to attend, taking into account potential media attendance at the declaration of the result. Local ROs will already have venues (and reserve venues) that they have used in the past and are familiar with, along with the verification and count workflows and layouts that work for these venues. If you are using a central venue, the scale of the space needed will depend on the size of the combined authority area and number of electors. You will also need to identify and put in place contingency arrangements, which may include identifying suitable venues of an equivalent size and capacity in case of the loss of a venue.
• Transmission of local totals: Local ROs need to transmit their local totals to the CARO/CCARO to enable the combined authority area result to be calculated . You will need to ensure that you provide instructions on the method to be used for transmitting the information accurately and securely, and carry out a test of the process in advance. There are greater risks with this process if counting is carried out locally, for example, as a result of technical issues. You would need to develop contingency arrangements to be deployed in the event of technical problems occurring.
• Security: You should work with local ROs to ensure the secure, safe and effective delivery of the verification and count process. As part of this local ROs will have undertaken risk assessments and may have put in place the necessary security measures to manage attendance at verification and the count, such as requiring attendees to show ID and bag checks before being allowed entry, and this can include Commission representatives and accredited observers. 
• Logistics: You should ensure that ballot papers are stored securely at all times. This will be an important consideration in any proposals that would require ballot boxes to be transported to a central venue, or between venues after being verified. You should consider carefully the potential security risks associated with the transportation of ballot boxes and the associated logistical challenges, including how to ensure that where polls are combined the correct ballot papers for each poll are in the right place so that all ballot papers can be included in the appropriate count. 

Your decisions as to when, where and how the votes are to be verified and counted should be taken in accordance with the principles and considerations set out in this guidance. Once you have made your decisions you should consider how best to ensure that local ROs’ plans for managing and resourcing their verification and counting processes will achieve these principles in practice.

Once you have decided how the verification and count will be organised and managed, you should ensure that local ROs’ plans will deliver a consistent standard of administration of these aspects of the election, so that the election as a whole delivers an accurate result in which everyone can have confidence.

There are a variety of methods for verifying the ballot papers and counting the votes. You can decide whether to require local ROs to use particular methods, or to leave it to each local RO to choose their preferred method based on what is most appropriate for their local circumstances and explain it to you. It is for you to decide in conjunction and consultation with local ROs in your area which approach to take.

Whatever counting method is used it should be transparent and lead to an accurate outcome. Calculating an accurate result relies on accurate verification and count figures, and you will need to consider specifically how you will ensure that the local totals you receive from local ROs to collate the result are accurate before you accept them. You should produce templates of all documents which local ROs will be required to complete during the verification and count process to provide a clear audit trail. 

Breaking down the verification and counting of votes into areas smaller than the whole of the local authority area is one counting method that is particularly effective in achieving an accurate, timely result with clear audit trails. The results from those ‘parts’ are then aggregated to achieve an overall local total for the area. Any counting issues that may arise will be limited to a more manageable area and any re-counts that may happen as a result, may be limited.

Whatever your decision, you should be able to satisfy yourself that ROs’ plans for verifying and counting can meet the principles for an effective verification and count and will deliver a result that is accurate and in which everyone can have confidence.

You should ensure that there is consistent and transparent communication about the result collation process both at the result collation venue and at any other count venues, depending on how the verification and counting is organised in your combined authority area, to candidates and agents, the media and other relevant stakeholders. If verification and/or counting is being carried out at a central venue(s) you will need to provide information to attendees about those processes.

As CARO you must collate the contents of the local verification statements and the count totals for each constituent council, and calculate and declare the overall result for the combined authority area.1 It is for you to determine how best to manage this process in your combined authority area.

You should liaise with local ROs in planning and developing the process for collating, checking and approving local totals, and provide them with guidance on how this will work in practice. You will need to ensure you have processes appropriate to the risk in place to ensure an appropriate level of security of personal data at the verification and count.

You should produce and share in advance with local ROs templates of all documents which you will require them to complete during the collation of local totals (whether electronically or in hard copy) to ensure that all information is recorded and transmitted in a consistent way and to provide a clear audit trail. Any system used should have a contingency in case of any problems or system failures.

You should consider how best to organise and manage the two-way transfer of information between you and local ROs. This includes the checking, recording and collating of information from local ROs and the calculation of the result. You should determine whether you need to put in place IT systems or programmes to facilitate this. 

As a minimum you should develop and implement protocols as necessary for the communication of information between you, local ROs and the staff working on the result collation process. You should include how local count totals will be communicated, the process for checking local totals and authorising them to be shared publicly. Whatever processes and systems you use for collating the result, you need to ensure that they meet the principles set out in principles for effective verification, count and result collation processes.

You should also make arrangements for testing the process and any supporting systems you intend to use, which should include at least one rehearsal of the process involving your staff and local ROs and their staff in order to ensure that everyone involved understands and is familiar with how the process works and what their responsibilities are. This will also enable any issues to be identified and resolved before the event itself. 

You should ensure that all processes are transparent and carried out in clear view of all those entitled to attend, with information provided to attendees on the processes to be followed.

Only the following people are entitled to attend the result calculation:

• you and your clerks1
• Local ROs and a clerk chosen by each of them2
• candidates and one person chosen by each candidate3
• election agents (any sub-agent appointed for the area in which the result calculation takes place may attend while the election agent is not present)4
• Electoral Commission representatives5
• accredited observers6

You may only permit other people to attend if you are satisfied that the efficiency of the calculation will not be impeded and you have consulted the election agents or thought it impractical to do so.7

You must give election agents notification in writing of the time and place at which the results collation will begin.8 You should also advise of any security arrangements in place and the expected behaviour of attendees, particularly during the delivery of verbal announcements.

You must give those entitled to attend reasonable facilities for overseeing the results collation. You should also ensure that anyone else who is entitled to attend has an unrestricted view of the proceedings, while also ensuring that they will not be able to interfere with the work of your staff.

Guidance on developing communication plans to support the delivery of the election can be found in our planning guidance for CAROs. 

Good communication, both at candidate and agent and media briefings in advance of the result collation and at the event itself, will allow those present to properly scrutinise the proceedings and will help to build confidence that the result is accurate. Providing information on the processes to be followed can also help to lower the number of queries raised by candidates and agents, the media and other attendees.

Our guidance for Returning Officers on communication during the verification and count covers the information that should be provided at the verification and count, and ways in which that might be done. As CARO you need to consider how to ensure consistency and transparency across the combined authority area both in terms of the information that is provided during the verification, count and result collation and when and how that is communicated, taking into account how the verification and counting is organised across the combined authority area.

You should ensure that you have prepared appropriate information to explain the processes you are going to follow during the result collation to any candidates, agents, observers and media who are present. As a minimum you should explain your role as CARO and identify, where appropriate, your deputies and key result collation staff and explain their roles. You should also explain how the result collation process will work, including how this relates to the verification and counting of votes across the combined authority area, and set out the key stages in the process.

You should make announcements at the start of the event and regularly during proceedings to keep attendees informed about what is happening where and when. You should also announce at the start the expected time for the declaration of result. 

Attendees at the result collation should be kept informed throughout the process and you will therefore need to consider how and at what stages in the process you will obtain information from local ROs to be able to provide timely information and updates to attendees at the result collation. Particularly where counting is not carried out at one central venue you will need to reflect in your communication protocols what information needs to be shared about the progress of the verification and count in each of the constituent council areas, and ensure that consistent information is communicated to you by local government ROs or local ROs (as appropriate) regularly throughout the process. You will also need to ensure that you plan for providing them with regular updates on the progress of the processes across the combined authority area, so that they can communicate this information locally.

If agents or observers are dissatisfied in any way with how proceedings are being carried out, you should give them the opportunity to make direct representations to you at the earliest opportunity so that you can consider any concerns, give explanations and reassurances, and take corrective action if necessary.

You should have a media plan in pace, together with the local government ROs or local ROs (as appropriate), for the combined authority area to ensure that your messages and approach to communication with the media at the verification, count and result collation are consistent across the combined authority area. In addition to making practical arrangements for their attendance, your early contact with the media should include an explanation of the processes to be followed and the expected time of the result declaration.

At the result collation venue you should include space and opportunity for the media to report on the result. You have discretion to decide which representatives of the media you allow to attend. As with all attendees, you should ensure that media representatives do not interfere with the process.

You should consider providing information and/or briefings in advance for representatives of the media attending the result collation and declaration of result and ensure that you have made the necessary preparations for their presence. Our guidance for Returning Officers on the media’s attendance at the verification and count contains further details and sets out the kinds of provision you may need to make for press and media attendance, including ensuring that the venue has suitable space and equipment and that there are clear processes and resources in place for providing information to and dealing with enquiries from the media at the result collation. To assist you and your public relations team we have produced, jointly with the national TV news broadcasters, some ‘tips for managing the media at the count’.

If media representatives are accredited by the Commission as observers and are attending in such a capacity, they have the same rights and obligations as any other accredited observer. Like any other observers, they should have regard to the Commission’s Code of practice for observers and must abide by any decision that you make on the use of cameras and other recording equipment.  

The law sets out the result collation process that must be followed. The key steps can be summarised as follows:

Collating the verification figures

• Each local RO must verify the ballot paper accounts for their area and draw up a statement as to the result of the verification.1
• Each local RO must inform the CARO of the contents of their verification statement.2
• You should collate all the verification figures for the combined authority area to produce a total number of the ballot papers going forward to the count for the whole combined authority area.
• Where the votes are to be counted at a different place to where the verification took place you can direct local ROs to carry out further specified verification procedures in relation to the ballot papers and documents relating to the combined authority mayoral election.3

Collating the count totals

• Each local RO must count votes given for each candidate.4 Once counting is complete, the local RO must share the provisional figures with the candidates and agents present, as it is at this stage that candidates, election agents and those counting agents who have been specifically authorised to do so may request a recount.5
• Once the candidates and agents have had the opportunity to request a re-count (and any recount has been completed), the local RO must draw up a statement of local totals including the number of votes cast for each candidate and the total number of rejected ballot papers, and a statement of rejected ballot papers categorised by reason for rejection.6
• Each local RO must, as soon as practicable, inform you of the contents of the statement of local totals.7
• Once you have been informed of the contents of the statement, you can direct the local RO to recount the votes.8
• Before the local RO can give public notice of the local totals, they must have received authorisation from you.
• You must collate all the local totals for the combined authority area received from local ROs.
• You must share the figures with the election agents who are present at the collation and must give them a reasonable opportunity to satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of the calculation.9 An election agent may request a re-calculation but you may refuse to do so if in your opinion the request is unreasonable.10
• Once the agents have had the opportunity to check the figures (and any re-calculation has been completed) you must declare the result as follows:
  • The candidate who has the majority of the votes is returned11
  • If more than one candidate has an equal number of votes, you must decide by lots which of them is to be returned12
  • You must declare the result13

Further guidance on the processes you need to follow after the declaration of the result, including giving public notice of the result, is contained in After the election.

We have developed guidance for local ROs on the adjudication of doubtful ballot papers at combined authority mayoral elections. You can find this in our guidance for local ROs and in a separate booklet on adjudicating doubtful ballot papers.

You should consider how you will work with local ROs in your combined authority area to ensure that the ballot papers for the whole combined authority area are adjudicated consistently. This should include consideration of the need for providing briefing or training sessions for local ROs and whether you wish to give any additional guidance or directions to them as to how they should adjudicate doubtful ballots.

The categorisation and recording of rejected ballot papers by grounds for rejection is an important part of the audit trail for the count, supporting confidence in the result. You should consider how to ensure that local ROs are clear as to how rejections should be categorised and how this information can be accurately recorded.

As CARO you are responsible for authorising local ROs to give public notice of the statements of local totals of number of votes cast and ballot papers rejected.1 Checking and authorising these totals is a key stage in ensuring that the result is accurate and that there is a clear and unambiguous audit trail. You therefore need to have in place a thorough and robust checking process to be able to satisfy yourself that the local totals are accurate and that information and figures are recorded and transmitted accurately by local ROs, and recorded and collated accurately by you and your staff.

Calculating an accurate result relies on accurate verification and count figures, and you will need to consider specifically what steps you will take to ensure that the local totals you receive from local ROs are accurate before you authorise the publication of the local statement.

In particular, you should consider how to ensure that the following are recorded and transmitted consistently and accurately:

• the total number of ballot papers going forward to the count, ensuring that this figure includes all ballot papers from polling stations and postal vote openings
• the total number of votes cast for each candidate
• the total number of rejected votes and the numbers recorded in each category for rejection
  • the total number of votes counted plus the total number of rejected votes should equal the total number of ballot papers that have gone forward to the count 

If there is any variance in these figures, you should require the local RO to take whatever steps you think are necessary and appropriate to try to resolve the variance, and to be able to explain any remaining variance to you.

At each stage, before you formally accept any figures, they should be checked with the local RO who has provided them, including checking for any transcription errors.

If you have any reason to doubt the accuracy of the counting of the votes in any constituent council area you may direct the local RO to re-count the votes.2 Once you are satisfied with the local totals you may authorise them to give public notice of the statement of local totals.3

You must calculate:1

• the total number of votes cast for each candidate
• the total number of rejected votes
• the number of rejected ballot papers categorised by reason for rejection

Re-calculation of the result

As soon as you have calculated the result of the count, you must inform the election agents who are present of the totals you have calculated and give them the opportunity to satisfy themselves that your calculations are accurate.2

Election agents may request that you recalculate the totals.3 You may refuse such a request if you consider it to be unreasonable.4  

Recounts

Candidates, election agents and those counting agents who have been specifically authorised to request a recount may request that the local RO recounts the votes at the conclusion of the counting of votes. No other counting agents or persons attending the count can request a recount. The local RO may refuse such a request if they consider it to be unreasonable.5  

Any protocol you have produced for how local ROs should communicate with you during the verification and count processes should include details of what they should do in the case of a request for a recount: for example, you may want to ask local ROs to inform you of all requests they receive for a recount or you could ask to be consulted where they are considering refusing a recount request.

You may direct an individual local RO to recount the votes for a particular constituent council area, but should only do so if you have reason to doubt the accuracy of the counting of votes in that constituent council area.6

You must declare the name of the candidate who is elected.1

When a candidate has used their commonly used name to stand in an election, you should use both their full name and their commonly used name when declaring the result to provide transparency regarding the candidates standing for election.

However, there is no legal requirement to use both their full name and commonly used name, and you can decide on the approach to take when declaring results. Whichever approach is followed, you should ensure that you apply it consistently for all candidates and undertake any additional checks necessary on verification and count paperwork to ensure that candidates’ names appear in the same order as listed on the ballot paper.

When planning for the declaration of the result you should:

• decide on the exact location in the venue where the result will be declared and who will be on the platform at this time
• ensure that the platform is accessible for all those who need to get up on it
• consider if you can make use of display boards to provide a backdrop for the announcement of results
• check any equipment that you will use for the announcement before the proceedings begin
• double-check that the result is accurate, and that it is written in the form of words for oral delivery in order to avoid any errors
• ensure that all attendees are aware of the standards of behaviour expected during your announcement
• consider how you will provide media representatives in attendance with a written copy of the results at the time the announcement is made as this will help them to ensure that their transmission of figures is accurate

Once you have declared the result at the count, it is final and cannot be amended. You should therefore take care to ensure that the result you declare is accurate.

However, if you make an error in your oral announcement you can correct this, provided it is done immediately.

For more information on the post-result notices and other post-election procedures see After the election.

This guidance is designed to support you with the activities you are required to complete after the declaration of the result.

You will find guidance on the immediate actions you need to take with regard to giving formal notice of the result and managing the return or forfeit of the deposit as well as guidance to support you in managing the storage and retention of election documents.

We have included contact information in relation to accounting for the election, details about the collection of candidates’ election spending returns, and the actions required with that process. 

Finally this guidance includes information about challenges to the election result and the petition process. 

In addition to declaring the result, you must give public notice of:

• the name of the candidate elected1 - you should also include their description (if any)  
• the total number of votes given for each candidate (whether elected or not), together with the number of rejected ballot papers under each of the heads shown in the statement of rejected ballot papers2   

You should ensure that a copy of the notice of result is made available to all interested parties as soon as possible and you must publish it in a conspicuous place or places within the combined authority area.3 This should include local authority offices, noticeboards, libraries and other public buildings and on your local authority’s website. You must inform the Proper Officer of the combined authority of the result4 and should send a copy of the results to each local RO for them to give public notice of the result within their constituent council area and on their council website. 

Declaration of the acceptance of office 

The successful candidate must make a declaration of acceptance of office in a prescribed form, which must be delivered to the appropriate officer in the combined authority area. 

You must return the deposit of any candidate that has polled more than 5% of the total number of valid votes cast at the election.1 You must return the deposit to the person who made the deposit or, if the candidate has died, to their personal representative, not later than the next working day after the election result was declared.2

If you are returning a deposit by cheque, it is treated as being returned on the day on which the cheque is posted.3

Any candidate who has not polled more than 5% of the total number of valid votes will forfeit their deposit to the combined authority.4  

After the poll you should carry out a thorough evaluation of all processes outlined in your project plan seeking feedback from appropriate stakeholders, and produce a lessons learnt document which can be used to inform the project plan and risk register for future electoral events. 

Your evaluation process should involve seeking feedback from the relevant Returning Officers across your combined authority area and other appropriate stakeholders.

We have provided, as part of the template project plan, some sample objectives and suggested tools that will allow you to measure the extent to which the conduct of the election has been successful. 

The review

The scope of the review should cover all aspects of the election. Your project plan should be used as the starting point for the review, and each process that was planned for and carried out should be reviewed.

A key part of the review will be the consideration of the aims and objectives set out in your project plan and measuring your performance against these.

You should pay particular attention to reviewing:

• your project planning
• whether you were able to secure adequate resources
• the effectiveness of your management and co-ordination structure, including the monitoring of planning for and delivery of the election by Returning Officers across your combined authority area
• the effectiveness of your communication strategies and methods 
• the recruitment and training of staff 
• engagement with candidates and agents
• the management of the nomination process and publication of candidates’ addresses
• the organisation and delivery of the result collation process 
• the suitability of venues used 
• the processing and handling of queries
• any issues affecting the security/integrity of the election

As part of the review you should seek feedback from appropriate stakeholders, including:

• staff
• electors
• candidates, agents and political parties
• Returning Officers from across the combined authority area and their staff
• local organisations of disabled people, older people and minority ethnic groups, and the council’s access officers

Once you have reviewed all aspects of the election and sought feedback from appropriate stakeholders you should produce a lessons learnt document.

The lessons learnt document should include an analysis of what practices were successful and where these could be used elsewhere, what you would do again or do differently, and key recommendations. The lessons learnt report should then be used to inform your project plan and risk register for future electoral events. You should also provide feedback to relevant Returning Officers across the combined authority area as part of their review of the conduct of the election in their constituent council area. 

Election notices published on your website

You will need to consider whether it is appropriate or necessary for the various election notices published on your website to remain there beyond the expiry of the petition period for the election. 

Where each notice serves a specific purpose, i.e. advising who will be a candidate at the election, once the election is over, and the opportunity to question that election has passed, they serve no further purpose. Therefore, you should either remove such notices published on your website, or remove the personal data contained in these notices, once the petition deadline for that election has passed.

Data protection legislation does permit personal data to be stored for longer periods if the data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, or for scientific, historical, or statistical purposes and subject to the implementation of appropriate safeguards. For election results, for example, you should retain these on your website as they are for public interest and historical and statistical purposes.

Home address forms 

A candidate must complete a home address form as part of their nomination. Home address forms must be kept securely stored for a period of 35 calendar days after the result has been declared.  

They must be securely destroyed on the next working day after the 35-day period.1 However, if an election petition relating to the election is presented within the 35 calendar days, the home address forms must be kept securely until the conclusion of the petition proceedings (including any appeal from such proceedings). They must then be securely destroyed on the next working day following the conclusion of the proceedings or appeal.

Candidates have to report their election spending and donations made towards their campaign after the election. 

The agent for a candidate must submit a spending and donations return to you together with any accompanying documents, such as relevant invoices and receipts for payments made over £20, within 35 calendar days of the date the election result is declared. Agents must also submit a declaration as to the contents of the return within 35 calendar days of the date the election result is declared. The declaration must be in the form set out in the election rules or in a form to like effect.

Candidates must also submit a declaration as to the contents of the return within seven working days of the election agent submitting the return. The declaration must be in the form set out in the election rules or in a form to like effect.

If the candidate is outside the UK the declaration must be made within 14 calendar days after the candidate’s return to the UK. If a candidate is acting as their own agent, they are only required to submit one declaration.

How spending returns may be submitted

It is for you to determine how candidates can submit their expenses, either as hardcopies, by email or both. When determining this you should ensure:

• You advise all candidates and agents of the process in advance
• All candidates and agents are treated fairly and consistently
• The process for submitting spending returns is clear, easy to follow and accessible for all

If you decide to accept spending returns by email you should specify any requirements, such as:

• The specific email address(es) to be used
• How emails should be labelled
• Any requirements regarding the format of email attachments

You should also consider the internal processes you will follow for spending returns submitted by email, for example:

• How you will acknowledge email submissions
• How you will manage spending returns sent to a different email address, such as having processes in place for monitoring email addresses that could be associated with the CARO/CCARO or electoral services team
• How to make other teams across the council aware that they should contact you as soon as possible if they receive any emails regarding spending returns
• How you will store the returns electronically

Checking of spending returns

Whilst there is no duty for you to check the completeness or validity of candidate spending returns, if you are aware that an obvious administrative error has occurred, it would be reasonable for you to advise the candidate or agent of this. For example, if you accept spending returns by email and the covering email refers to an attachment of receipts, which have not been included, it would be reasonable to highlight this to the candidate to enable them to re-send the attachment.

You should ensure that all candidates are treated fairly and consistently, and are provided with the same level of support on the submission of their expenses.

Retention of candidates’ spending returns

You must retain a copy of each combined authority mayoral election spending return and declaration, and any accompanying documents, for a period of two years from the date on which you received it.1 During that period, you must make the copies available for public inspection without charge in your office or another convenient place chosen by you. 

If you have accepted spending returns via email, you should think about how you will prepare returns for inspection. For example, will you allow inspection to take place on a computer under supervision, or will you print off all of the returns.

You must also provide copies of the returns, declarations or any accompanying documents on request. The fee for a copy of any return, declaration or document is 20p for each side of each page.

You must remove the addresses of individuals who have made donations to candidates from all copies of statements of donations made available for inspection or supplied on request. You should also ensure that personal data is redacted from these copies. You should contact your Data Protection Officer for further advice.

At the end of the two year period, if the candidate or the election agent requests them, the returns, declarations and accompanying documents must be returned to the candidate; otherwise they should be destroyed.

You must forward un-redacted copies of all the candidate returns and declarations you receive to the Commission. The Commission may also ask you to provide copies of invoices and receipts on request.1  

Please email PDF copies to [email protected]. It will be of significant help to us in processing emailed returns, and prevent queries from us to you, if you:

• scan each return separately
• send each return by separate email, as very large attachments will be rejected by our server
• identify the election and the candidate name in the subject line of the email 
• do not password protect emails or provide passwords or secure websites – a normal email is sufficient
• do not send associated invoices or other supporting documents, we will ask for these if necessary

If you are unable to email PDF copies, you can forward copies of the returns to the following address:

Political Finance and Regulation
The Electoral Commission
3 Bunhill Row
London
EC1Y 8YZ

Following the elections you may receive requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. CAROs, local ROs and EROs are not a public authority under this Act and, as such, are exempt from the disclosure requirements imposed by it.1

However, where possible, CAROs, local ROs and EROs should disclose the requested information, provided this information is already in the public domain, or the information requested does not include personal data. An example of non-personal data would be statistical data providing the total number of electors registered in the combined authority area or the turnout of postal voters.

At scheduled elections, you will be asked to send information and data to us relating to the elections.

All information needed to return data to Electoral Commission Post Election

Link to data portal

The costs for running the election are paid for by the combined authority.1 The combined authority will provide you with instructions for accounting for the elections.

Payment of creditors  

You should keep receipts, purchase orders and invoices before and throughout the election period for all services/work provided, and pay all creditors as soon as possible after the elections. 

Payment of fees to staff

When paying fees to staff you will need to consider the following:

Income tax

Under tax rules a standard starter checklist, which is issued at the time of appointment, must be completed by all staff. It needs to be completed only once rather than reviewed every year. You will need to issue a P60 form to the employee at the end of the tax year.

If you terminate the employment of any of your casual staff following the election and issue them with a P45, then any returning casual staff who work at future elections will need to complete a new standard starter checklist at each new election.  

HMRC real-time information

All election payments made will be subject to HMRC’s real-time information tax payment system. You should ensure that you liaise with your local authority’s finance and HR departments as soon as possible to ensure that you can comply with the tax rules for all your employees, including any temporary and short-term contract staff. Further guidance is available from HMRC.

Automatic enrolment into a workplace pension

All employers with staff working in the UK must comply with automatic enrolment requirements. Further guidance is available from the Pensions Regulator.

Election petitions

An election petition can be used to challenge the result of combined authority mayoral elections.1

Petitions can be presented by:

• a person claiming to have been a candidate at the election,2 or
• four or more persons who voted at the election or who had a right to vote at the election, except for electors registered anonymously3  

What is the basis for an election petition?

The allowable grounds for a petition are that:4  

• the person whose election is questioned was not duly elected
• the person whose election is questioned was disqualified at the time of the election
• the election was invalidated by corrupt or illegal practices or on the grounds specified in Sections 164 and 165 of the Representation of the People Act 1983

Who is made a respondent?

The duly elected candidate whose election is questioned is likely to be made a respondent to the petition.5 As CARO, you may be a respondent to the petition if the petition relates to the conduct of the election, and if it relates to the conduct of the election in a particular constituent council area or areas, the local RO may also be a respondent.6  

Deadlines for bringing petitions

A petition must be presented within 21 days after the day on which the election was held.7 Further time is allowed in certain circumstances.8

Any person who is considering presenting an election petition should be advised to take their own legal advice. For any questions relating to election petitions, including confirming the deadlines, you should contact the Election Petitions Office:

The Election Petitions Office 
Room E113 
Royal Courts of Justice 
Strand 
London
WC2A 2LL 

Email: [email protected] 

Phone: 0207 947 6877

Planning for the election

 Starting the election timetable

 Nominations and the Election Address Booklet

 After the election