Guidance for (Acting) Returning Officers administering a UK Parliamentary election in Great Britain

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Proxy voting

Proxy vote applications require verification of identity. Where identity cannot be verified against DWP records, the ERO has up to and including polling day to receive the required evidence or necessary attestation from the applicant and make a determination.

Information about applications to appoint a proxy made by an applicant for a person to vote on their behalf that are made by 5pm, six working days before polling day1 will be provided to you by the ERO once those applications have had been through identity verification and been determined. You must supply Presiding Officers with the relevant parts of this list of proxies.2

You may need to make an alteration to the printed register if a proxy has applied to vote by post and the application is determined close to the poll. Our guidance on Polling station registers and absent voting lists has more information on alterations that may be made to the register after they have been printed. The polling station register must be marked with an ‘A’ against the name of the elector, as any elector who has appointed a proxy and their proxy has applied to vote by post can no longer vote in the polling station. A separate list will contain the details of postal proxies.

 

If, as (A)RO, you are responsible for a constituency that crosses local authority boundaries you will need to liaise with the ERO(s) at the other authority/authorities to coordinate the determination of applications and subsequent updates to polling station registers and absent voting lists of all electors for the relevant parts of the constituency who have, before polling day, appointed a proxy to vote on their behalf once those applications have had been through identity verification and been determined.

Restrictions on proxy voting

A person may not have more than one appointed proxy for UK Parliamentary elections in the same constituency or elsewhere at any time.3   

A person is not entitled to vote as proxy at a Parliamentary election on behalf of more than four electors. Within the four electors, no more than two electors can be domestic electors. Domestic electors are those electors who are neither service voters nor overseas electors.4   

It is an offence:  

  • for a person to knowingly appoint a proxy who is already acting as a proxy for two or more domestic electors5  
  • for a person who is registered as an overseas elector or a service voter to knowingly appoint a proxy who is already acting as a proxy for four or more electors (of which no more than two electors can be domestic electors)6  
  • to vote as proxy for more than two domestic electors7  
  • to vote as proxy for more than four electors (of which no more than two electors can be domestic electors)8  
Last updated: 22 February 2024