Guidance for Petition Officers

Once the signing period is confirmed, the ERO will need to ensure that their electoral management software is set up so that those eligible to sign by post are captured. 

Existing absent voters 

People are entitled to sign the petition by post or proxy if:1

• they are registered as a parliamentary elector and will be 18 or over by the end of the signing period, and
• they are already included on an absent vote list or list of proxies as a result of an application for a definite or indefinite period which was granted before the cut-off day (i.e. three working days before the start of the signing period)

If a person has a postal vote for a definite period and that period expires during the signing period, it will be deemed to continue until the end of the signing period (unless the person cancels it before 5pm on the eleventh working day before the last day of the signing period).2

If a person has a proxy vote for a definite period and that period expires during the signing period, their entitlement to a proxy vote ends on the expiry of the definite period.3  

New applications to sign a petition by post

People can apply to the ERO to sign any petition by post, either for an indefinite period, or for a particular period, or to sign a particular petition by post if:4  

• they are, or will be, registered as a parliamentary elector and will be 18 or over by the end of the signing period, and
• they have not already signed the petition at a signing place, and
• their application contains their signature and date of birth, along with other prescribed information

There is no requirement for the applicant to provide a reason why they want to sign a petition by post. 

More information is available in our guidance on postal vote applications for EROs in England, Scotland and Wales.

New applications to sign a petition by proxy

People can apply to the ERO to sign any petition by proxy, either for an indefinite period, or for a particular period, or to sign a particular petition by proxy if:5  

• they are, or will be, registered as a parliamentary elector and will be 18 or over by the end of the signing period, and
• they have not already signed the petition at a signing place, and
• their application contains their signature and date of birth, along with other prescribed information, and
• they are eligible to sign a petition by proxy as per the regulations6  

Applications for a proxy for an indefinite or for a particular period require a specific reason.7  

More information is available in our guidance on proxy vote applications for EROs in England, Scotland and Wales.

Emergency proxies

Electors can apply to the ERO for an emergency proxy for similar reasons as at an election.8

More information is available in our guidance on emergency proxies for EROs in England, Scotland and Wales.

Deadlines for applications

The deadline for making changes (including cancellations) to existing absent signing arrangements (i.e. postal, proxy and postal proxy) is 5pm, 11 working days before the last day of the signing period.9  If however, a postal signer has already returned their postal signing sheet, they cannot make changes after that time, even if this is before 5pm, 11 working days before the last day of the signing period.10  

The deadline for new postal and postal proxy applications is also 5pm, 11 working days before the end of the signing period.11  

The deadline for new proxy applications (not postal proxy), excluding emergency proxy applications, is 5pm, six working days before the end of the signing period.12  

The deadline for an emergency proxy is 5pm on the last day of signing or, if the petition is due to close earlier, the deadline is the beginning of the final hour that the petition is available for signing on that day.13