Representation of the People Act 1983

Part I — Parliamentary and Local Government Franchise and its Exercise

Parliamentary and local government franchise

Parliamentary electors

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• (1) A person is entitled to vote as an elector at a parliamentary election in any constituency if on the date of the poll he—

• (a) is registered in the register of parliamentary electors for that constituency;

• (b) is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart);

• (c) is either a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; and

• (d) is of voting age (that is, 18 years or over).

• (2) A person is not entitled to vote as an elector—

• (a) more than once in the same constituency at any parliamentary election; or

• (b) in more than one constituency at a general election.

Local government electors

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• (1) A person is entitled to vote as an elector at a local government election in any electoral area if on the date of the poll he—

• (a) is registered in the register of local government electors for that area;

• (b) is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart);

• (c) is a Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland , a relevant citizen of the Union or (in Wales) a qualifying foreign citizen Ireland or—

• (i) in relation to a local government election in England, a qualifying EU citizen or an EU citizen with retained rights, or

• (ii) in relation to a local government election in Wales, a relevant citizen of the Union or a qualifying foreign citizen; and

• (d) is of voting age (that is, 18 years or over except in Wales (see subsection (1A))).

• (1A) In Wales, voting age is 16 years or over.

• (2) A person is not entitled to vote as an elector—

• (a) more than once in the same electoral area at any local government election; or

• (b) in more than one electoral area at an ordinary election for a local government area which is not a single electoral area.

Disfranchisement of offenders in prison etc.

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• (1) A convicted person during the time that he is detained in a penal institution in pursuance of his sentence or unlawfully at large when he would otherwise be so detained is legally incapable of voting at any parliamentary or local government election, unless subsection (1A) applies to that person.

• (1A) A convicted person is not legally incapable of voting at a local government election in Scotland by virtue of subsection (1) during the time that the person is detained in a penal institution in pursuance of a sentence imposed for a term not exceeding 12 months.

• (1B) In calculating the term of a sentence of a convicted person for the purpose of subsection (1A), terms that are consecutive or concurrent to any extent are to be treated as a single term if the sentences were imposed on that person—

• (a) on the same occasion, or

• (b) on different occasions but the convicted person was not released (other than on temporary release) at any time during the period beginning with the first occasion and ending with the last.

• (2) For this purpose—

• (a) “convicted person” means any person found guilty of an offence (whether under the law of the United Kingdom or not), including a person found guilty by a court of a service offence within the meaning of the Armed Forces Act 2006, but not including a person dealt with by committal or other summary process for contempt of court; and

• (b) “penal institution” means an institution to which the Prison Act 1952, the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1952 or the Prison Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 applies; and

• (c) a person detained for default in complying with his sentence shall not be treated as detained in pursuance of the sentence, whether or not the sentence provided for detention in the event of default, but a person detained by virtue of a conditional pardon in respect of an offence shall be treated as detained in pursuance of his sentence for the offence.

• (3) It is immaterial for the purposes of this section whether a conviction or sentence was before or after the passing of this Act.

*State the relationship of the companion to the voter.

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• (1) A person is entitled to be registered in the register of parliamentary electors for any constituency or part of a constituency if on the relevant date he—

• (a) is resident in the constituency or that part of it;

• (b) is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart);

• (c) is either a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; and

• (d) is of voting age.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) A person is entitled to be registered in the register of local government electors for any electoral area if on the relevant date he—

• (a) is resident in that area;

• (b) is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart);

• (c) is a qualifying Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or—

• (i) in relation to a local government election in England, a qualifying EU citizen or an EU citizen with retained rights, or

• (ii) in relation to a local government election in Wales, a relevant citizen of the Union or a qualifying foreign citizen; and

• (d) is of voting age ....

• (3A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (4) The preceding provisions have effect—

• (a) subject to—

• (i) any enactment imposing a disqualification for registration as a parliamentary, or (as the case may be) local government, elector; and

• (ii) compliance with any prescribed requirements; and

• (b) (as respects registration as a parliamentary elector) without prejudice to section 1B(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (registration of British citizens overseas).

• (5) A person otherwise qualified is (despite subsection (1)(d) or (3)(d), as the case may be) entitled to be registered in a register of parliamentary electors or local government electors if he will attain voting age before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the 1st December next following the relevant date, but—

• (a) his entry in the register shall give the date on which he will attain that age; and

• (b) until the date given in the entry he shall not by virtue of the entry be treated as an elector for any purposes other than those of an election the date of the poll for which is the date so given or any later date.

• (5A) If a person entitled to be registered by virtue of subsection (5) above has an anonymous entry in the register, the references in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection to his entry in the register are to be read as references to his entry in the record of anonymous entries prepared in pursuance of paragraph 8A of Schedule 2 below.

• (5B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (6) In this section—

• “qualifying Commonwealth citizen” means a Commonwealth citizen who either—is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, oris such a person but for the time being has (or is, by virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having) any description of such leave;

• “the relevant date”, in relation to a person, means—the date on which an application for registration is made (or, by virtue of section 10A(2) below, is treated as having been made) by him;in the case of a person applying for registration in pursuance of a declaration of local connection or a service declaration, the date on which the declaration was made.

*The name of the sovereign may be altered when necessary.

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• (1) This section applies where the question whether a person is resident at a particular address on the relevant date for the purposes of section 4 above falls to be determined for the purposes of that section.

• (2) Regard shall be had, in particular, to the purpose and other circumstances, as well as to the fact, of his presence at, or absence from, the address on that date.

For example, where at a particular time a person is staying at any place otherwise than on a permanent basis, he may in all the circumstances be taken to be at that time—

• (a) resident there if he has no home elsewhere, or

• (b) not resident there if he does have a home elsewhere.

• (3) For the purpose of determining whether a person is resident in a dwelling on the relevant date for the purposes of section 4 above, his residence in the dwelling shall not be taken to have been interrupted by reason of his absence in the performance of any duty arising from or incidental to any office, service or employment held or undertaken by him if—

• (a) he intends to resume actual residence within six months of giving up such residence, and will not be prevented from doing so by the performance of that duty; or

• (b) the dwelling serves as a permanent place of residence (whether for himself or for himself and other persons) and he would be in actual residence there but for his absence in the performance of that duty.

• (4) For the purposes of subsection (3) above any temporary period of unemployment shall be disregarded.

• (5) Subsection (3) above shall apply in relation to a person’s absence by reason of his attendance on a course provided by an educational institution as it applies in relation to a person’s absence in the performance of any duty such as is mentioned in that subsection.

• (6) Subject to sections 7 and 7A, 7A and 7B (in so far as it relates to a declaration made for the purposes only of the registration of local government electors in Scotland) below, a person who is detained at any place in legal custody shall not, by reason of his presence there, be treated for the purposes of section 4 above as resident there.

Residence: merchant seamen

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At any time when a merchant seaman is not resident in the United Kingdom and would have been resident there but for the nature of his occupation, he shall be entitled to be treated for the purposes of section 4 aboveas resident—

• (a) at any place at which he would have been resident but for the nature of his occupation; or

• (b) at any hostel or club providing accommodation for merchant seamen at which he commonly stays in the course of his occupation.

For this purpose “merchant seaman” means any person not having a service qualification whose employment or the greater part of it is carried out on board seagoing ships, and includes any such person while temporarily without employment.

Residence: detained and voluntary mental patients

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• (1) This section applies to a person who—

• (a) is a patient in a mental hospital (whether or not he is liable to be detained there), but

• (b) is not a person to whom section 3A above or section 7A below applies.

• (2) A person to whom this section applies shall (subject to subsection (5) below) be regarded for the purposes of section 4 above as resident at the mental hospital in question if the length of the period which he is likely to spend at the hospital is sufficient for him to be regarded as being resident there for the purposes of electoral registration.

• (3) A person registered in a register of electors in pursuance of an application for registration made by virtue of subsection (2) above is entitled to remain so registered until—

• (a) the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the date when the entry in the register first takes effect, or

• (aa) the registration officer determines in accordance with regulations that the person was not entitled to be registered, or

• (ab) the registration officer determines in accordance with regulations that the person was registered as the result of an application under section 10ZC made by some other person or that the person's entry has been altered as the result of an application under section 10ZD made by some other person, or

• (b) another entry made in respect of him in any register of electors takes effect (whether or not in pursuance of an application made by virtue of subsection (2)),

whichever first occurs.

• (4) Where the entitlement of such a person to remain so registered terminates by virtue of subsection (3) above, the registration officer concerned shall remove that person’s entry from the register, unless he is entitled to remain registered in pursuance of a further application made by virtue of subsection (2).

• (5) Subsection (2) above shall not be taken as precluding the registration of a person to whom this section applies—

• (a) by virtue of his residence at some place other than the mental hospital in which he is a patient, or

• (b) in pursuance of a declaration of local connection.

• (6) In this section “mental hospital” means any establishment (or part of an establishment) maintained wholly or mainly for the reception and treatment of persons suffering from any form of mental disorder; and for this purpose “mental disorder”—

• (a) in relation to England or Wales, has the same meaning as in the Mental Health Act 1983,

• (b) in relation to Scotland, has the same meaning as in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 , and

• (c) in relation to Northern Ireland, has the same meaning as in the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.

Registration of parliamentary and local government electors

Registration officers

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• (1) For the registration of electors there shall be electoral registration officers (in this Act referred to as “registration officers”).

• (2) In England . . .—

• (a) the council of every district and London borough shall appoint an officer of the council to be registration officer for any constituency or part of a constituency coterminous with or situated in the district or borough, and

• (b) in relation to any constituency part of which consists of some or all of the area of the City and the Inner and Middle Temples, the Common Council shall appoint an officer to be registration officer for that part of the constituency.

• (2A) In Wales, the council of every county or county borough shall appoint an officer of the council to be registration officer for any constituency or part of a constituency coterminous with or situated in the area of the council.

• (3) In Scotland, every local authority shall appoint an officer of the authority for their area or for any adjoining area, or an officer appointed by any combination of local authorities, to be registration officer for any constituency or part of a constituency which is situated within their area.

• (4) In Northern Ireland, the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is the registration officer for each constituency.

Registers of electors

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• (1) Each registration officer shall maintain—

• (a) a register of parliamentary electors for each constituency or part of a constituency in the area for which he acts; and

• (b) a register of local government electors for the local government areas or parts of local government areas included in the area for which he acts.

• (2) Subject to any other provision of this Act, each register shall contain—

• (a) the names of persons who appear to the registration officer to be entitled to be registered in it and in respect of whom a successful application for registration has been made;

• (b) (subject to any prescribed exceptions) the qualifying addresses of the persons registered in it; and

• (c) in relation to each such person, that person’s electoral number.

• (3) A person’s electoral number is such number (with or without any letters) as is for the time being allocated by the registration officer to that person as his electoral number for the purposes of the register in question.

• (4) Electoral numbers shall be allocated by a registration officer in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that in each separate part of a register the numbers run consecutively.

• (5) The registers of parliamentary electors and of local government electors shall so far as practicable be combined, the entries of persons registered only as parliamentary electors or local government electors being marked to indicate that fact.

• (5A) In relation to the registration of local government electors in Scotland, the entry in the combined registers of any person aged 16 or 17 who is registered only as a local government elector must give the date on which the person will attain the age of 18.

• (5A) In relation to the registration of local government electors in Wales—

• (a) the entry in the combined registers of any person aged 16 or 17 who is registered only as a local government elector must give the date on which the person will attain the age of 18;

• (b) the entry in the combined registers of any person who is registered only as a local government elector by virtue of section 4(3A) of this Act must give an indication of that fact.

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (7) Where under this section two or more registration officers maintain registers of parliamentary electors in respect of different parts of the same constituency, then in relation to that constituency any reference in this Act (whether express or implied) to the register of parliamentary electors for a constituency shall be read—

• (a) as a reference to one of those registers, or

• (b) in relation to one of those registration officers, as the register maintained by him,

as the context may require.

• (8) In this Act—

• (a) any reference, in relation to a registration officer, to “his” registers is a reference to the registers maintained by him under this section; and

• (b) “qualifying address”, in relation to a person registered in a register of electors, is the address in respect of which he is entitled to be so registered.

Preparation of registers

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• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .