Guidance for Candidates and Agents at local government elections in England

You may appoint agents to attend postal vote openings.

Anyone can be appointed as a postal vote agent except for:

• the Returning Officer (RO) or a member of their staff 
• a partner or clerk of the RO or a member of their staff 
• anyone not entitled to vote at the election as a result of the report of an election court or a conviction for a corrupt or illegal practice under the Representation of the People Act 1983  

A person may be appointed as a postal voting agent for more than one candidate.1

You and your election agent can automatically act as one of these agents without the need of an official appointment.2

The RO will tell you the maximum number of postal voting you can appoint.3 All candidates will be allowed to appoint exactly the same number.

The request to appoint postal voting agents must be made in writing to the RO.4

The request must contain the names and addresses of the people being appointed.5 The Returning Officer will provide forms you can use for this, or you can use the Commission’ postal voting agent appointment form.

Appointment forms for postal voting agents need to be submitted to the RO by the time fixed for the opening of postal votes they want to attend.6

The RO will give you at least 48 hours’ notice before the scheduled start of each postal vote opening session.7

If an agent dies or becomes incapable of acting, you may appoint another agent in their place by submitting the relevant appointment form to the RO.8 Any new appointment in these circumstances must be made without delay.

More information on what postal voting agents can and cannot do and what they can expect to see at postal vote opening sessions can be found in our guidance on what does a postal voting agent do and the stages of the postal vote opening process.