Guidance for Returning Officers administering Local Government Elections in England
Candidate details
Candidate name
Candidates must appear on the ballot paper as listed as in the statement of persons nominated. Their names and relevant details must appear according to the directions for printing.1
Candidate surnames must appear in capital letters, including the capitalisation of surnames beginning with MAC or MC and the names should follow strict alphabetisation e.g. MABBOT, MACLEAN, MATTHEWS, MCCORMICK, MORRISON.
Where a candidate has listed multiple names as their surname, either hyphenated or not, you should reproduce the whole name as provided. For example Dick Van Dyke would appear as VAN DYKE, Dick on the ballot paper and for alphabetisation purposes their surname would start with a V.
Similarly, Ann Smith-Jones would be SMITH-JONES, Ann on the ballot paper and would be listed as an S for alphabetisation purposes.
In all cases, you should use the maximum possible sizes of font. To ensure consistency, the same font size should be used for each candidate on each equivalent line.
Combined authority and combined county authority mayoral election
The CARO/CCARO will be able to confirm the candidate details which are to appear on the ballot paper for the combined authority/combined county authority mayoral election after the close of nominations, i.e. after 4pm on the nineteenth working day before the poll.
Emblems
Emblems
If the candidate is standing for a registered political party and has requested the use of an emblem, you may be provided with a high-resolution copy of the emblem for use in the printing of ballot papers. Alternatively you may need to download the emblem from our website. You should ensure that whatever copy is used is in the same form as the registered emblem.
The maximum size of an emblem on the ballot paper is two centimetres square.2
Do not alter or distort the shape of the emblem to fit the ballot paper. You should ensure that the emblem is in the same form as the registered emblem – for example, do not stretch emblems into square shapes if they are not registered as square images on our website, as this would have the effect of altering their appearance.
- 1. Rule 16(2) and (5), Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006 (LEPAR 2006); Rule 16(2) and (5), Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) (England and Wales) Rules 2006 (PCR 2006); Rule 18(3) and (6), Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (LAM Rules 2007); Rule 18(3) and (7), The Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) Order 2017. ↩ Back to content at footnote 1
- 2. Directions as to Printing the Ballot Paper, Appendix to LEPAR 2006, PCR 2006, LAM Rules 2007 and CAM Rules 2017. The latest version of the principal area ballot paper can be found in the Appendix to The Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) (Amendment) (England) Rules 2018. The latest version of the parish ballot paper can be found in The Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) (England and Wales) (Amendment) (England) Rules. The latest version of the mayoral ballot paper can be found in The Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2014. ↩ Back to content at footnote 2