Guidance for Candidates and Agents at Combined Authority Mayoral elections

Each nomination form needs to be signed (subscribed) by 100 electors with at least ten subscribers from each constituent council in the combined authority area.

If there are ten or fewer than ten constituent councils you will require 100 signatures. The CARO can confirm the number of constituent councils in the combined authority.

Your subscribers must be of voting age by polling day and appear on the local government register for a constituent council in force on the last day for the publication of the notice of election1 (i.e. 25 working days before the poll). You need to bear this in mind when identifying your subscribers and deciding when to submit your nomination.

The first two electors will sign and print their names as proposer and seconder, and the other electors are assenters to the nomination.

If a nomination form contains more than the required number of subscribers’ signatures, only the required number will be accepted.2  If one of the first of the required number of subscribers is invalid, regardless of whether the form contains more than the required number, the CARO must hold the nomination invalid.3

There is nothing to prevent you from subscribing your own nomination providing that you are registered in a constituent council.

There may be some electors on the register who have registered anonymously because of risks to their safety.

Anonymously registered electors may not subscribe nomination forms.

Anonymous electors are shown on the register with just their poll number and the letter 'N' (rather than with their name and address).

Nomination forms should not be altered once they are subscribed. All of your details should be completed before you invite anyone to subscribe your nomination. Once the CARO has formally accepted a nomination form, signatures cannot be withdrawn.

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. The CARO can confirm the position for any county councils in the combined authority area for which you are standing for election as mayor.

The elector number

The elector number of each subscriber, as it appears on the electoral register, must be entered on the nomination form.4  The elector number usually includes the distinctive numbers or letters of the polling district, which can usually be found at the front of the register.

The ERO for each local authority will be able to advise you how their register is laid out.

You will be entitled to a free copy of the electoral register for each constituent council that is within the combined authority area in which you are standing.5

You should use the registers to ensure that your nomination form is properly subscribed.

In line with data protection legislation and the electoral provision under which you have obtained the register, you must ensure that you keep the electoral register secure and, once you have finished with it, ensure that it is securely destroyed.

Data protection considerations

When collecting subscriber information, you should point out what the information will be used for, how personal data will be processed and kept secure. The lawful basis to collect the information on this form is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest and exercise of official authority as set out in Representation of the People Act 1983 and associated regulations.

You should also explain that the information will be shared with the CARO. For further information on data protection and processing you should refer to the CARO’s privacy notice on their website.

Data protection legislation will apply to the processing of all personal data. Please contact the Information Commissioner's Office for further information about how the current data protection legislation affects you.