Guidance for Returning Officers administering a Senedd election

For nomination papers delivered by hand, nomination is formally delivered at the point where:

• a paper is left with you and the offer of an informal check was not accepted
• the informal check has been conducted, any issues addressed and the person delivering the nomination paper has indicated they are satisfied that it is ready to be determined

If a nomination paper is delivered by hand, the original version of each completed document must be submitted.
  
You should endorse the paper with the date and time of delivery, so that you have a record of when each paper was formally submitted.

For nominations delivered electronically, this means being received by the server of the specific email address or online system provided for the delivery of nominations by the deadline.
 
You cannot treat a nomination as delivered by the deadline solely on the basis that it has been sent by that deadline. The nomination must actually be delivered to you as Returning Officer by the deadline in order to be valid. For example, having proof that an email was sent by the deadline does not provide proof of delivery by the deadline.

You should confirm delivery of any nomination submitted electronically as soon as practicable after receipt to inform the candidate that is has been formally delivered.

To manage expectations, you should be clear in your communications with parties, individual candidates and agents that the electronic delivery of a nomination paper does not mean that it has yet been determined. You could set up an auto-reply function to nominations received electronically to confirm that you have received the nomination but it has not yet been determined, and that a separate notification will be sent as to its validity. If practical, you could also use this auto-reply to give an indication of the likely timeframe involved.

In order to ensure that nomination papers submitted electronically are delivered in accordance with the deadline, you must ensure that any computer system you use records the time that papers are received.1
     
Once a nomination paper has been formally delivered, either by hand or electronically, no changes can be subsequently made to it (subject to your power to correct minor errors).2 For more information see our guidance on mistakes on nomination papers.

If a political party or individual candidate later decides that they want to make changes to their nomination paper after it has been formally submitted, for example to the description, this can only be done by:

• withdrawing 
• submitting new nomination papers within the statutory timeframe