Guidance for the GLRO administering the GLA elections

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 twenty-fourth working day before the poll).1  

The order of the addresses in the booklet must, by law, be decided by you by drawing lots.2

Lots must be drawn as soon as reasonably practicable after the last time for the delivery of nomination papers.

Each candidate submitting an address for inclusion in the election booklet must pay you £10,000 as a contribution towards the expense of printing the booklet.3 You must refuse to include any candidate’s election address where the payment has not been made in the time and manner that you require.4  

Your statement

You must include in the booklet, along with the candidate’s election addresses, your own statement.5   

Your statement must include:

• The date of the election and an explanation of the nature and purpose of the booklet.
• A list of all Mayor of London candidates, including those who did not submit an election address, in the order that they will appear on the ballot paper, together with their description (if any).
• A list of all the parties at the London-wide Assembly Member election, together with the names of the candidates on each party list in the order that they are to be elected, followed by the names and description (if any) of the individual candidates.
• A list of all the Constituency Assembly Member candidates, listed alphabetically by constituency and with the names of candidates for each constituency in the order they are to appear on the ballot paper, together with their description (if any).

Your statement may include:

• the deadlines for registration and absent voting applications
• any other information that you determine

Election information 

You may also include in the election booklet information for voters that has been agreed with the Commission about:6

• the office of the Mayor and the London Assembly
• the system of voting at each Authority election
• information about how to vote in a manner that will ensure a vote is regarded as validly cast 

and, subject to the restrictions set out in legislation (for example, the information must not contain any advertising), may include any other information which will encourage electoral participation.

This information must be printed on no more than two sides of A5 paper.7

Reviewing the proof

You must notify every election agent of a candidate who has provided a valid election address 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.8

You may, if any candidate and their agent do not review the proof, make your own correction of typographical errors in an election address if you think it is appropriate. If you decide to make a correction, you should attempt to contact the candidate or agent to clarify your corrections.9

Publication of the booklet

The booklet must include a statement that it is published by you, giving your name and address and that of your printer.10  

You must print the booklet and deliver a copy to each elector on the electoral register who is eligible to vote at the Mayor of London election.11   

In addition to delivering printed copies of the booklet to electors, you should also publish the contents of the booklet on your website and make further copies of the booklet available on request.  You should liaise with CROs to ensure that booklets are available locally, such as in the offices of London boroughs and public libraries. 

By law, you should also make copies of the booklet available at the offices of:12  

• the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC)
• the London Fire Commissioner 
  Transport for London
• Office of London borough councils and the Common Council of the City of London
• Public libraries

You should also, on request, supply the booklet in alternative formats and you may provide it in languages other than English on the London Elects website.

Return of candidate payment for printing cost

You should keep a record of the costs of printing the booklet separately from all other costs so that you can determine the total costs of printing the booklet. If the payments made by the candidates exceed the total cost of printing, the balance must be divided equally between the candidates and returned to them. 

Candidates who withdraw before the deadline for withdrawals must have all of the payment they have made returned to them.13 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.