Guidance for Returning Officers administering a Greater London Authority (GLA) election

The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) is required to supply Returning Officers with such copies of the electoral register as are required for the different aspects of the election(s). If you are not also the ERO, or if your constituency crosses local authority boundaries, you should liaise with the relevant ERO(s) to agree how this will be managed in practice.

Once a person becomes a candidate for the election of the Mayor of London, constituency candidates, and individual regional candidates are entitled to a free copy of the full register on written request.1 In the case of a registered party which submits a list of candidates as regional members, the election agent for the party list is entitled to a copy of the full register.2

The earliest a person standing in the election of the Mayor of London or at the Constituency Member Assembly election can become a candidate is on the last day for publication of the notice of election.3 The earliest a person standing as an individual candidate at the London-wide Assembly election can officially become a candidate is also on the last day for publication of the notice of election.4 They will 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). 

After the last day for publication of the notice of election, a mayoral, constituency or individual candidate at the London-wide Assembly election will become a candidate either on the date they, or others, declare that they will be a candidate at the election, or on the date their nomination papers are submitted, whichever is the earlier.
 
While the legal responsibility for receiving and supplying registers to candidates rests with the ERO for each local authority area, if you are CRO for a constituency which crosses local authority boundaries, you should have in place plans for managing or coordinating requests and supplying copies of the registers to candidates. These plans should ensure that all candidates can be supplied with registers in such a way that they have timely and easy access to them. 

For example, you may consider supplying the registers to candidates centrally on behalf of all the EROs in the constituency and include a request form in the nomination pack that covers all local authority areas that are part of the relevant electoral area. The benefit of this approach is that it could operate so that candidates or election agents only need to complete one request form covering all local authority areas 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 and updates could be brought together for subsequent timely supply, including 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.5 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.

The ERO for each local authority area in the constituency is responsible for receiving requests and supplying a copy of the register and lists of absent voters to candidates.6

We have produced template electoral register and absent voter list request forms that candidates can use. 

Further information about candidate’s entitlement to the register and absent votes list can be found in our guidance for candidates and agents.

Requesting the register outside of the election period

Political parties and elected representatives are also entitled to request a copy of the electoral register outside of the election period.

You can find more information in our guidance for EROs on free supply of the full register.