
Public Elections
(Jersey) Law 2002[1]
A LAW to make provision for the
election of public officers in Jersey, and for other purposes
Commencement
[see endnotes]
PART 1
Preliminary
1 Interpretation[2]
In this Law unless the context otherwise
requires –
“Adjoint” means an
assistant returning officer, being a person appointed under Article 27;
“Autorisé”
means a returning officer, being a person appointed under Article 17(2)(b);
“ballot box” means a box provided as referred to in Article 26(5)
for ballot papers returned by voters;
“constituency” –
(a) in
the case of the election of a Deputy – has the same meaning as in Article 4
of the States of Jersey Law 2005; or
(b) in
the case of the election of a Connétable, Centenier, or Procureur du Bien Public, of a parish –
means the persons entitled to vote in such an election in the parish;
“counting station” means a polling station designated,
or taken to have been designated, under Article 47, as the location, or
one of the locations, for the count of votes in a public election;
“electoral administrator”, in relation to a parish, shall
be construed in accordance with Article 17A;
“electoral district”
has the meaning given by Article 1A;
“electoral number” means the number assigned, in an
electoral register for an electoral district, to a person entitled to vote in
that district;
“electoral register” means a register prepared under Article 6;
“electoral register in force for an election” means the
electoral register in force as referred to in Article 12(1);
“nomination meeting” means a meeting under Part 5
at which candidates are proposed and seconded;
“principal Autorisé”
shall be construed in accordance with Article 17(2A), (2B) and (2C);
“public election” means an election of a
Connétable, Centenier or Procureur du Bien Public or an election of a Deputy;
“registered officeholder” means, in relation to a
registered political party, a person registered as the holder of the office of
leader, treasurer or secretary of that party;
“registered” means entered in the register under the Political Parties (Registration) (Jersey)
Law 2008;
“return” means the return required under Article 21
or 53;
“supplementary electoral register” means a register
prepared under Article 9A;
“supplementary electoral register in force for an election”
means the supplementary electoral register in force as referred to in Article 9A(7).
1A Electoral
districts[3]
(1) In relation to an
election of a Deputy or Connétable, “electoral district”
means –
(a) in the
Deputies’ constituency of St. Saviour, each of –
(i) Vingtaine de la
Petite Longueville,
(ii) Vingtaine
de Sous l’Eglise,
(iii) Vingtaines
de Maufant, de Sous la Hougue, des Pigneaux and de la Grande Longueville;
(b) in
the Deputies’ constituency of St. Brelade, each of –
(i) Vingtaines de
Noirmont and du Coin,
(ii) Vingtaines
de Quennevais and de la Moye;
(c) in
any other Deputies’ constituency –
(i) where the
constituency comprises a single parish, that parish,
(ii) where
the constituency comprises more than one parish, each of those parishes,
(iii) in
any other case, the part of the parish which comprises the constituency.
(2) In relation to an
election of a Centenier or Procureur du Bien Public of a parish, the
“electoral district” is the parish.
PART 2
WHO MAY VOTE?
2 Entitlement
to vote
(1) A person is entitled to
vote in an election of a Centenier or Procureur du Bien
Public, of a parish if the name of the person is on the
electoral register for the electoral district that corresponds to the parish,
being the register in force for the election.[4]
(1A) A person is entitled to vote in an
election of a Connétable of a parish if the name of the person is on the
electoral register for an electoral district which is within, or is the area
comprising, the parish, being the register in force for the election, or on a
supplementary electoral register in force for the election for the electoral
district.[5]
(2) A person is entitled to
vote in an election of Deputies for a constituency if the name of the person is
on the electoral register for an electoral district which is within, or is the
area comprising, the constituency, being the register in force for the election,
or on the supplementary electoral register in force for the election for the
electoral district.[6]
(3) [7]
(3A) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1),
(1A) and (2) a person who has registered under Article 5A is not entitled
to vote in an election for which the day of the poll precedes the day entered
in the electoral register against the person’s name under Article 5A(6).[8]
(4) A person is not prevented
from voting at a public election just because the person holds any office
(including that of Autorisé or Adjoint), or exercises any function, under this Law.
3 Voting
where name omitted from electoral register
If a person claims a right to vote at a polling station in an
electoral district, but the person’s name does not appear on the
electoral register or supplementary electoral register (if any) for that
district, the person may still vote if the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of the polling station is satisfied –
(a) from a declaration by
the person in such form as the States may prescribe by Regulations; and
(b) after consulting the
electoral administrator or such other officer, or such employee, of the
relevant parish as he or she considers appropriate,
that the name has been omitted from the register as a result of
administrative error.[9]
4 Disqualification
of certain offenders[10]
(1) A convicted person,
during the time that he or she is –
(a) detained
in a prison or other penal institution in pursuance of a sentence of
imprisonment for a period exceeding 4 years; or
(b) unlawfully
at large when he or she would otherwise be so detained in pursuance of a
sentence of imprisonment for any period,
is legally incapable of voting at a public election.
(2) For the purposes of
this Article –
(a) “convicted
person” means any person found guilty in Jersey or elsewhere of an
offence (whether under the law of Jersey or another place), including a person
found guilty by a court-martial or other court or tribunal applying any law
applicable to armed services;
(b) a
person detained for default in complying with his or her 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;
(c) a
person detained by virtue of a conditional pardon in respect of an offence
shall be treated as detained in pursuance of his or her sentence for the
offence; and
(d) it
does not matter whether the person has been convicted or sentenced before or
after this Article comes into force.
4A Voting
by prisoners not disqualified under Article 4[11]
(1) This Article applies to
persons who –
(a) are
detained (whether following conviction or otherwise) in a prison or other penal
institution; and
(b) are
not disqualified under Article 4.
(2) A person to whom this
Article applies may vote in a public election only –
(a) by
postal vote, in accordance with Part 7; or
(b) pursuant
to measures taken by an Autorisé or Adjoint
under Article 35.
PART 3
ELECTORAL REGISTERS
5 Entitlement
to be registered
(1) A person is entitled on
a particular day to have his or her name included on the electoral register for
an electoral district if on that day –
(a) the person
is at least 16 years old;
(b) the person
is ordinarily resident in that district; and
(c) the person
has been –
(i) ordinarily
resident in Jersey for a period of at least 2 years up to and including
that day, or
(ii) ordinarily
resident in Jersey for a period of at least 6 months up to and including
that day, as well as having been ordinarily resident in Jersey at any time for
an additional period of, or for additional periods that total, at least 5 years.[12]
(2) A person is not
entitled to have his or her name included on the electoral registers for more
than one electoral district at the one time.
(3) For the purposes of
paragraph (1)(c) –
(a) a
person is not to be treated as ordinarily resident in Jersey if the person
becomes resident in Jersey only in pursuance of a sentence of imprisonment; and
(b) in
relation to any person who, before being detained in a prison or other penal
institution pursuant to a sentence of imprisonment, was not entitled to have
his or her name included on the electoral registers, the calculation of a
period of ordinary residence shall not include any period during which the
person is so detained.[13]
5A Advance
registration[14]
(1) Notwithstanding Article 5,
a person who satisfies the requirements in Article 5(1)(b) and (c) but is
under the age of 16 may, within the period of 3 months preceding his
or her 16th birthday, apply to have his or her name included in the
electoral register for an electoral district.
(2) Notwithstanding Article 5,
a person who satisfies the requirements in Article 5(1)(a) and (b) but who
does not satisfy the residence requirement in Article 5(1)(c) may, within
the period of 3 months preceding the day when he or she will satisfy the
residence requirement in Article 5(1)(c), apply to have his or her name
included in the electoral register for an electoral district.
(3) Notwithstanding Article 5,
a person who satisfies the requirement in Article 5(1)(b) but who is under
the age of 16 and does not satisfy the residence requirement in Article 5(1)(c)
may, within the period of 3 months preceding whichever is the later
of –
(a) his
or her 16th birthday; and
(b) the
day when he or she will satisfy the residence requirement in Article 5(1)(c),
apply to have his or her name included in the electoral register for
an electoral district.
(4) A person applying under
paragraph (1), (2) or (3) must provide the electoral administrator for the
parish with a signed statement as to the day on which he or she will satisfy
the requirements of Article 5(1).
(5) An electoral
administrator shall refuse to include the name of a person who has applied
under paragraph (1), (2) or (3) on the electoral register for an electoral
district if the person does not provide the signed statement required by
paragraph (4).
(6) The electoral
administrator for a parish shall –
(a) include
the name of a person who has applied under paragraph (1), (2) or (3) on
the electoral register for an electoral district if the electoral administrator
has been furnished with information in respect of that person sufficient to
satisfy the electoral administrator that the person will, on a particular day,
satisfy the requirements of Article 5(1); and
(b) enter
in the register the first date on which the person will satisfy the
requirements of Article 5(1).
(7) If the electoral
administrator for a parish refuses to include the name of a person who has
applied under paragraph (1), (2) or (3) on the electoral register for an
electoral district, the electoral administrator shall give the person the
reasons for his or her decision.
(8) An application under
this Article shall be made in such form as the States may prescribe by Regulations.
6 Electoral registers[15]
(1) The electoral
administrator for a parish shall prepare and maintain a separate electoral
register for each electoral district that is, or is within, the parish.[16]
(2) The names and addresses
of the persons registered in an electoral register shall be arranged in that
register in 2 lists, one in alphabetical order of the persons’ names and
one in street order of the persons’ addresses.
(3) Each name included on
an electoral register shall be given an electoral number.
(4) An electoral register
shall be prepared and maintained in electronic form.
7 Addition
and keeping of name on the electoral register[17]
(1) The electoral
administrator for a parish shall include the name of a person on the electoral
register for an electoral district if the electoral administrator has been
furnished with, or has obtained, information in respect of that person
sufficient to satisfy the electoral administrator that the person is entitled
to have his or her name included on that register.[18]
(2) The electoral
administrator for a parish shall cause to be sent, not later than 1st November in
every year, to every unit of dwelling accommodation in each electoral district
within the parish, a statement –
(a) in
such form as the States may prescribe by Regulations;
(b) setting
out the names of the persons (if any) whose names are included in respect of
that unit of dwelling accommodation on the register for the electoral district;
and
(c) requiring
it be checked, corrected if necessary, signed and returned to the electoral
administrator.[19]
(3) It is the duty of each person
ordinarily resident in a unit of dwelling accommodation to which a statement is
sent to –
(a) check
that the statement is correct;
(b) sign
the statement; and
(c) ensure
that it is returned, with any necessary corrections, to the electoral
administrator for the parish by 1st December in the same year.[20]
(4) It is the duty of a person
who is entitled to have his or her name included on the register for an
electoral district at any time, and whose name is not so included, to apply for
registration –
(a) as
soon as practicable;
(b) to the
electoral administrator for the parish where the electoral district is located;
and
(c) in
such electronic form as may be provided by the electoral administrator for a
parish or in such other form as the States may prescribe by Regulations.[21]
(5) The electoral
administrator for a parish shall refuse to include the name of a person on the
electoral register for an electoral district –
(a) if,
in the case of an application in electronic form, the electoral administrator
is unable to be satisfied, whether by reason of information furnished in that
form or otherwise obtained by the electoral administrator, that the person is
entitled to have his or her name included on the register; or
(b) by
reason of information contained in a statement under paragraph (3) or an
application (other than one in electronic form) under paragraph (4), if
the statement or application has not been signed by that person.[22]
(6) No civil or criminal
liability attaches to a failure to discharge a duty under this Article.
7A Notice
of registered voters[23]
(1) This Article applies in
a year in which a public election is required by Article 6 of the States of Jersey Law 2005 or Article 2 of the Connétables (Jersey) Law 2008.
(2) In addition to the
statement required by Article 7(2), the electoral administrator for a
parish shall cause to be sent to every unit of dwelling accommodation in each
electoral district within the parish a notice containing the information
described in paragraph (3).
(3) The notice
must –
(a) contain
the names of the persons (if any) whose names are included in respect of that
unit of dwelling accommodation on the electoral register for the electoral
district;
(b) if a
person is registered under Article 5A, the date entered in the register in
the person’s case, under Article 5A(6);
(c) explain
where and how to inspect the electoral register; and
(d) explain
when a person is entitled to be registered and how to register.
(4) The notice must be sent
between 1st and 15th March in the year of the election.[24]
(5) The notice shall be in
such form as the States may prescribe by Regulations or, if a form is not
prescribed, in such form as the Comité des Connétables approves.
8 Exclusion
or removal of name from electoral register[25]
(1) If the electoral
administrator for a parish is not satisfied that a person whose name is
included in a statement returned under Article 7(3) is entitled to have
his or her name added to or retained on the register, the electoral
administrator shall serve on that person a notice –
(a) stating
that the electoral administrator has not added the name to the register or, as
the case requires, has removed the name from the register; and
(b) giving
the reasons for the electoral administrator’s decision.[26]
(2) If the electoral
administrator for a parish is not satisfied that a person who has applied under
Article 7(4) is entitled to have his or her name added to the register, the
electoral administrator shall serve on that person a notice –
(a) stating
that the electoral administrator has not added the name to the register; and
(b) giving
the reasons for the electoral administrator’s decision.[27]
(3) If the electoral
administrator for a parish is satisfied that a person whose name is on the
register is deceased or no longer resident in the electoral district, the
electoral administrator shall remove the name from the register.[28]
(4) If a person whose name
is included on an electoral register has not, for a period of 3 consecutive
years, been included in and signed a statement returned under Article 7(3),
the electoral administrator shall serve notice on that person stating that the
electoral administrator shall remove the person’s name from the register
unless the person delivers to the electoral administrator, within the period of
28 days following service of the notice, confirmation, in such form as the
States may prescribe by Regulations or, if none is prescribed, in such form as the
electoral administrator requires, that the person is still entitled to have his
or her name on the register.[29]
(5) The electoral
administrator for a parish shall remove a person’s name from the register
where notice has been served on the person under paragraph (4) and the
confirmation required under that paragraph has not been received within the
time specified.[30]
9 Application
for name to be omitted from register[31]
(1) A person may apply to the
electoral administrator for the person’s name and address to be omitted
from the electoral register.[32]
(2) An application may be
made on the ground only that there would be a significant risk or threat of
personal harm to the person, or to any other person who resides with him or
her, if the person’s name and address is included in the electoral
register.
(3) The application shall
be made in such manner as the electoral administrator requires.[33]
(3A) The application may be made at the
same time as an application under Article 5A.[34]
(4) The electoral
administrator may, from time to time, review an omission under paragraph (1)
and, if the electoral administrator is satisfied that there are no longer
grounds for it, may reinstate in, or add the person’s name and address
to, the register.[35]
(5) Where the electoral
administrator reinstates or adds a person’s name and address under
paragraph (4), he or she must notify the person.[36]
(6) Notwithstanding
Articles 2, 6, 38 and 39 and Part 6, where an electoral administrator
grants a person’s application under this Article –
(a) the
person shall be entitled to vote in an election, but only by postal or pre-poll
vote, in accordance with arrangements applicable in his or her case under Part 7;
(b) the
person shall be given an electoral number which shall be entered in the
register against an entry signifying that the number is for a person whose name
and address are omitted under this Article;
(c) the number
and entry shall be arranged in the register in a list that is separate from the
lists required by Article 6(2).[37]
(7) Where, under this
Article, a person’s name and address is omitted from, reinstated in, or
added to, the electoral register by the electoral administrator –
(a) the
electoral administrator shall ensure that, as may be needed for the purposes of
this Article, the change is also made in the most recent, and any previous,
copy of the electoral register provided under Article 11(2); and
(b) any
person to whom a copy has been provided under Article 11(2) shall comply
with any direction given by the electoral administrator for the purposes of
sub-paragraph (a).[38]
9A Supplementary
electoral registers for elections of Deputies and Connétables[39]
(1) Where the Royal Court
has made an order for the holding of one or more elections for one or more Deputies
or Connétables on one day in an electoral district, the electoral
administrator for the parish which is, or part of which is, the electoral
district shall also prepare and maintain a supplementary electoral register for
the electoral district, in accordance with this Article.[40]
(2) Paragraphs (2) to
(4) of Article 6 shall apply to a supplementary electoral register as they
apply to an electoral register.
(3) A supplementary
register shall have effect and be used only for the purposes of the election or
elections ordered by the Royal Court as mentioned in paragraph (1).
(4) Where, during the late
registration period, an electoral administrator for a parish is required by
Article 5A to include the name of a person on the electoral register for
an electoral district, the electoral administrator shall also include the
person’s name in the supplementary electoral register for that district
if the date entered in the electoral register for the person under Article 5A(6)
is on or before the day of the poll.
(5) Where, during the late
registration period, an electoral administrator for a parish is required by
Article 7(1) to include the name of a person on the electoral register for
an electoral district, the electoral administrator shall also include the
person’s name in the supplementary electoral register if that
person’s name is not included in any electoral register in force for any
electoral district for the elections referred to in paragraph (1).
(6) For the purposes of
this Article, the late registration period –
(a) begins
at the time when the electoral register for the public election or elections
becomes, in accordance with Article 12(1) or (1A), the electoral register
in force for the election or elections; and
(b) ends
at midday on the seventh day before the day of the poll or polls.
(7) For the purposes of the
election or elections ordered by the Royal Court as mentioned in paragraph (1),
the supplementary electoral register for the electoral district is the
supplementary register as in force at the end of the late registration period.
(8) If the name of a person
is to be included in a supplementary register but, under Article 9, the
person’s name has been omitted from the electoral register –
(a) the
person’s electoral number shall be entered in the supplementary electoral
register against an entry signifying that the number is for a person whose name
and address have been omitted from the electoral register under Article 9;
(b) the
number and entry shall be arranged in the register in a list that is separate
from the list required by Article 6(2), as it is applied by paragraph (2)
of this Article.
(9) The electoral
administrator for a parish shall cause a copy of a supplementary electoral
register in force for an election to be available, free of charge, to
candidates in the election.
10 Appeals[41]
(1) A person may appeal to
the Royal Court against –
(a) a
refusal to add his or her name to a register (except a refusal under Article 5A(5)
or Article 7(5));
(b) the
removal of his or her name from a register; or
(c) the
refusal of his or her application, or of the reinstatement in or addition to
the register of his or her name, under Article 9.[42]
(2) An appeal shall be made
within the period of 28 days following service of notice of the refusal,
removal, reinstatement or addition or, if no notice is served, within the
period of 28 days following the person becoming aware of the refusal,
removal, reinstatement or addition.
(3) The decision of the
Royal Court on any such appeal shall be final and without further appeal.
11 Electoral
register to be available
(1) The electoral
administrator for a parish shall cause the electoral register for each
electoral district within the parish to be available at the parish hall for
public inspection during the office hours of the parish hall.[43]
(2) The electoral
administrator for a parish shall provide, free of charge, a copy of the
electoral register for each electoral district within the parish as it stands
immediately before 1st September to the Librarian of the Jersey Library and to
the Judicial Greffier.[44]
(3) The Librarian and the
Judicial Greffier shall each cause the copy so provided to him or her to be
available free of charge for public inspection at the Jersey Library and the
Judicial Greffe respectively during the normal opening hours of that place.
12 Electoral
register in force for an election
(1) For the purposes of any
election, an electoral register for an electoral district which is, or is
within, a parish is the electoral register for the district as in force at
midday on the day before the day when the nomination meeting for the election
is held.[45]
(1A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1),
where –
(a) 2 or
more public elections are to be held on the same day;
(b) nomination
meetings are to be held on 2 consecutive days, for the purposes of those
elections; and
(c) but
for the operation of this paragraph, there would be 2 electoral registers,
as in force on 2 consecutive days, for an electoral district,
the electoral register for the
district, for each election, shall be the electoral register for the district
as in force at midday on the day before the day when the first nomination
meeting is held.[46]
(2) The electoral
administrator for the parish shall cause a copy of the register as so in force
to be published in printed form and copies of it as so published to be
available to the Judicial Greffier, the Autorisés
and Adjoints and the candidates for the
election free of charge.[47]
(3) The electoral
administrator for the parish shall provide the Judicial Greffier with a list of
the names and addresses which are omitted from the electoral register under
Article 9 and of the electoral number assigned to each name.[48]
13 Regulations
may amend times in this Part
The States may, by Regulations, amend any date or other expression
of time in this Part.
PART 4
GENERAL
14 Public
election
A public election shall be conducted in accordance with this Law.
15 Cost
of election
(1) All the costs of
setting up, printing and other expenses necessary for putting this Law into
effect in a parish shall be met by the parish, except to the extent that paragraph (3)
provides.[49]
(2) [50]
(3) The costs of sending
out notices under Article 7A shall be met by the States.[51]
16 Assistance
The electoral administrator for a parish where the election takes
place shall provide such assistance in the preparation for, and conduct of, the
election as the Autorisé for an electoral district in the parish may reasonably require.[52]
17 Order
for election
(1) The Royal Court shall
make an order for the holding of a public election when such an election is
required under Article 6 or 13 of the States of Jersey Law 2005, Article 3 of the Centeniers (Terms of Office) (Jersey) Law 2007, Article 2 or 3 of the Connétables (Jersey) Law 2008 or Article 3 of the Procureurs du Bien Public (Terms of Office)
(Jersey) Law 2013.[53]
(2) The order
shall –
(a) subject
to paragraph (2AA)(a), fix the day (being a Wednesday or, instead, such
other day of the week as the States may prescribe by Regulations) for taking
the poll if a poll becomes necessary, that day being not earlier than the day
falling 38 days after the date when the Court makes the order;
(b) appoint
a Jurat or other public official as Autorisé for the poll in each electoral district;
(c) fix
the time, and the date, when the persons elected shall appear in the Court to
take their oaths; and
(d) direct
the principal Autorisé to deliver a return about the election to the Court.[54]
(2AA) In
the case of an order in respect of an election under Article 6 of the States of Jersey Law 2005 (ordinary elections for
Deputies) or Article 2 of the Connétables (Jersey) Law 2008 (ordinary elections for
Connétables) –
(a) paragraph (2)(a)
does not apply where the date of the public election has been appointed by the
States by Act under those provisions;
(b) the
date fixed under paragraph (2)(c) must be within the period of
14 days beginning with the day of the election.[55]
(2A) Where there is only one electoral
district in a constituency, the Autorisé
appointed for the poll in that electoral district is also the principal Autorisé in relation to the election.[56]
(2B) Where there are 2 or more electoral
districts in a constituency the order made by the Royal Court shall also
designate which of the Autorisés appointed
for the electoral districts is to be the principal Autorisé
in relation to the election.[57]
(2C) [58]
(3) Where a person
appointed as Autorisé is unable to
discharge the duties of that office, the Royal Court may appoint another person
in his or her place.[59]
(3A) Where an Autorisé designated under paragraph (2B)
is unable to discharge the duties of principal Autorisé,
the Royal Court may designate another Autorisé
as principal Autorisé.[60]
(4) An appointment under
paragraph (3), or a designation under paragraph (3A), may be made by
the Bailiff alone if it is required –
(a) within
the period of 10 days before the poll; or
(b) within
the period of 24 hours following the announcement by the Autorisé of the result of the election in the electoral district where he or
she was in charge.[61]
17A Electoral
administrator for parish[62]
(1) Subject to this
Article, the Connétable of a parish is the electoral administrator for
the parish.
(2) If the
Connétable of a parish is proposed as a candidate in the election of a
Connétable or Deputy for the parish, the person described in paragraph (4)
shall be the electoral administrator for the parish –
(a) from
the time when the Connétable is proposed as a candidate in the election;
(b) until –
(i) the
Connétable is, in accordance with Article 21(1), taken to have been
elected in the election, or
(ii) the
result is announced in the election.[63]
(3) If an election to which
paragraph (2) applies is to be held on the same day as one or more other
public elections, the result referred to in paragraph (2)(b)(ii) is the
last of the results to be announced in the elections.
(4) Subject to paragraphs (5),
(6) and (7), the first Procureur du Bien Public in a parish shall be the
electoral administrator for the parish.
(5) Subject to paragraphs (6)
and (7), the first Procureur du Bien Public and the second Procureur du Bien
Public in a parish may agree that, notwithstanding paragraph (4), the
second Procureur du Bien Public shall be the electoral administrator for the
parish.
(6) A Procureur du Bien
Public cannot be the electoral administrator for the parish if he or she is
also nominated as a candidate in the election in which the Connétable is
a candidate or at any time when he or she is nominated as a candidate in any
other public election.
(7) If, by virtue of
paragraph (6), there is no-one eligible to be the electoral administrator
for a parish for the period described in paragraph (2), the Royal Court
shall appoint a person as the electoral administrator for the parish for that
period.
(8) For the purposes of
this Article, the Procureur du Bien Public in a parish who has been in that
office in that parish for the longer period (or periods in the aggregate) is
the first Procureur du Bien Public in the parish and the Procureur du Bien
Public in the parish who has been in that office in that parish for the shorter
period (or periods in the aggregate) is the second Procureur du Bien
Public in the parish.
PART 5
NOMINATION
18 Nomination
of candidates
(1) A person shall be
admitted as a candidate for the public election of an officer in a constituency
only if he or she has been duly proposed and seconded at a meeting of persons
entitled under Article 2(1), (1A) or (2) to vote at a public election for
such an officer in the constituency, being a meeting held in accordance with
this Part.[64] [65]
(2) Where 2 or more
elections for one or more Deputies or Connétables are held on the same
day, a person cannot be admitted as a candidate in more than one of those
elections. [66]
(3) Accordingly, for the
purposes of paragraph (2), if a person, having been admitted as a
candidate in one of those elections, is subsequently admitted as a candidate in
another of those elections, the earlier admission as a candidate shall lapse.[67]
19 Holding
of nomination meeting
(1) At a public election, a
meeting of the persons entitled under Article 2(1), (1A) or (2) to vote at
a public election in a constituency shall be held at least 21 days before the
day fixed for the poll.[68]
(2) There shall be one such
nomination meeting for each constituency in which there is to be a public
election.
(3) A nomination meeting
shall be convened –
(a)
(aa) in the case of an
election of a Deputy for a constituency comprising a parish, or parts of a
parish, by the Connétable of the parish;
(ab) in the case of an
election of a Deputy for a constituency comprising 2 or more parishes, by the
Connétable of one of those parishes (to be determined by agreement
between the Connétables of the parishes comprising the constituency); or
(b) in
the case of an election of a Connétable, Centenier or Procureur du Bien
Public by the Connétable of the parish in which the election is to take
place.[69]
(3A) [70]
(4) The Connétable
who convenes the nomination meeting shall cause a notice announcing the time,
date and place of the nomination meeting –
(a) to be
published in the Jersey Gazette on at least 4 days (not counting any
Sunday) before the day when the meeting is held; and
(b) to be
posted, during the 4 days (not counting any Sunday) before the meeting is
held, in the place specified in Article 3 of the Loi (1842) sur les
publications dans les églises.
20 Procedure
at nomination meeting
(1) Each nomination meeting
for a public election shall be presided over by the Connétable who
convenes it.
(2) However, if at the
meeting that Connétable is absent or is proposed as a candidate, the
persons entitled under Article 2(1), (1A) or (2) to vote in the election
who are present at the meeting shall choose another officer of the parish where
the meeting is held (or in which the election is to take place) to preside at
the meeting.[71]
(2A) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1)
and (2), if the Connétable who convened the meeting is not, by virtue of
Article 17A(2), the electoral administrator for his or her parish, the
meeting shall be presided over –
(a) if
the electoral administrator for that parish is present, by that person;
(b) if
the electoral administrator for that parish is not present, by another officer
of the parish where the meeting is held (or in which the election is to take
place), chosen by the persons entitled under Article 2(1), (1A) or (2) to vote in the election
who are present at the meeting.[72]
(3) No proposition shall be
put to a nomination meeting except the nomination of a candidate for the public
election.
(4) The nomination of a
candidate for a public election shall be made by the production to a nomination
meeting of a document, in such form as the States may prescribe by Regulations,
subscribed by a proposer and 9 seconders, all 10 of whom shall be persons
entitled under Article 2(1), (1A) or (2) to vote for that candidate in any
poll held for the election.[73]
(4AA) Notwithstanding Article 18(1)
and paragraph (4) of this Article, a person who has been entered in an
electoral register under Article 5A may only propose or second the
nomination of a candidate if the nomination meeting takes place on or after the
date entered in the electoral register in his or her case under Article 5A(6).[74]
(4A) Where the meeting is for the
nomination of candidates for the office of Deputy or Connétable, a
prospective candidate may indicate his or her wish to have his or her endorsement
by a registered political party entered on the ballot paper, by complying with
paragraph (4B).[75]
(4B) Before the document described in
paragraph (4) is subscribed by a proposer and 9 seconders –
(a) the
prospective candidate shall complete a declaration, which shall be contained in
that document, of the registered political party by which he or she is
endorsed, indicating whether the registered name, or the registered
abbreviation (if any) of the name, of the party is to be entered on the ballot
paper; and
(b) the
declaration shall be signed by –
(i) the prospective
candidate, and
(ii) 2 persons
(of whom one may be the prospective candidate) who are registered officeholders
of the registered political party.[76]
(4C) A prospective candidate who wishes
to have his or her endorsement by a registered political party entered on the
ballot paper need not be a member of that party.[77]
(4CA) The name of the prospective candidate to be
shown on the document produced under paragraph (4) shall be his or her full
forename and surname, but the prospective candidate may further declare in that
document any other name –
(a) by
which he or she is commonly known; and
(b) by
which he or she wishes to be identified on the ballot paper.[78]
(4CB) A name declared by a candidate under paragraph (4CA)
shall be the name to be used, for the purposes of the poll, in respect of that
candidate under Articles 22 and 24 unless, in the opinion of the person
presiding at the nomination meeting –
(a) the
use of the declared name would be likely to mislead or confuse voters in the
election; or
(b) the
declared name is obscene or offensive. [79]
(4D) A declaration made in accordance
with paragraph (4B) or (4CA) cannot be withdrawn after the document in
which it is contained has been produced to the nomination meeting in accordance
with paragraph (4).[80]
(4E) The States may, by Regulations,
amend in paragraph (4B)(b) the description or numbers of persons required
to sign a declaration.[81]
(5) not in force on the revision date
(6) not in force on the revision date
(7) not in force on the revision date
(8) A nomination meeting
shall not be closed less than 10 minutes after it has been opened.[82]
(9) The person presiding shall
make a record of the nominations.
21 Procedure
where candidates do not exceed vacancies
(1) If in a constituency
there are not more candidates for public election than vacancies, the
candidates are taken to have been elected and the person presiding at the
nomination meeting for the election shall declare them elected and prepare,
sign and deliver a return to the principal Autorisé
to that effect.[83]
(2) The return shall
include notice of any protest received by the person presiding, being a protest
against the nomination of those candidates or their being declared elected.
(3) The person presiding
shall give notice to the candidates so elected to appear in the Royal Court to
take the customary oath, and the principal Autorisé
shall prepare and sign a return about the election for the Royal Court.[84]
PART 6
POLL
22 Procedure
where candidates exceed vacancies
(1) If in a constituency
there are more candidates than vacancies, a poll shall be held in the
constituency and the person presiding at the nomination meeting shall announce
that a poll is to be held.
(2) In every public
election, the electoral administrator for a parish where a poll is to be held
shall –
(a) cause
a notice to be published in the Jersey Gazette on at least 4 days (not
counting any Sunday) before the day when the poll is held; and
(b) cause
a notice to be posted, during the 4 days (not counting any Sunday) before the
day when the poll is held, in the place specified in Article 3 of the Loi
(1842) sur les publications dans les églises. [85]
(3) The notice shall
give –
(a) the
office for which the poll is being held;
(b) the
time, day and place of the poll; and
(c) the
name (being the candidate’s full forename and surname, and any name
declared by the candidate under Article 20(4CA)) and address of each
candidate.[86]
23 Withdrawal,
disqualification or death of candidate[87]
(A1) A candidate may, between the day of
his or her nomination and the day fixed for the poll, withdraw his or her
candidacy by notifying the Royal Court in writing.[88]
(1) If a candidate in a
constituency is disqualified, or dies, between the day of his or her nomination
and the day fixed for the poll, the person who presided at the nomination
meeting shall report that event to the Royal Court as soon as possible.
(2) If a candidate withdraws,
as referred to in paragraph (A1), or is disqualified, or dies, as referred
to in paragraph (1), the Court may make such order as it thinks fit in all
the circumstances of the case, whether an order that the election proceed
despite the withdrawal, disqualification or death, an order annulling the
proceedings already taken, a fresh order under Article 17 for an election
in the constituency, or any other order (whether instead of or in addition to
those orders).[89]
24 Ballot
papers
(1) [90]
(2) [91]
(3) In the
case of any public election where a poll is needed, the person who presided at
the nomination meeting shall have a sufficient number of ballot papers printed.[92]
(3A) The
ballot papers shall be in such form and printed on such paper as the States
prescribe by Regulations and
shall –
(a) show the date and place
of the election;
(aa) indicate whether
the election is for a Connétable, Centenier, Procureur du Bien Public or
Deputy;
(ab) indicate the
number of votes that an elector may cast in the election;
(b) in alphabetical
order or such other manner as may be prescribed, show the name of each
candidate, being the candidate’s full forename and surname or (as the
case may be) the name declared by the candidate under Article 20(4CA);
and
(c) in the case of a
candidate who has, in accordance with Article 20(4A) and (4B), declared
his or her wish to have his or her endorsement by a registered political party
entered on the ballot paper, show, next to the candidate’s name, the registered
name or the registered abbreviation (if any) of the name, of that party as
signified in the candidate’s nomination document under Article 20.[93]
(4) All the ballot papers
required in a constituency shall be attached to counterfoils, which shall be bound
together in such a way as to form one or more booklets.
(5) A number shall be
printed on the back of each of the ballot papers, being the same as the number
printed on its counterfoil.
(6) With the exception of
this number, all the ballot papers used in any one poll in a constituency shall
be identical.
25 Secret
ballot
In every public election the poll shall be by secret ballot.
26 Polling
stations
(1) For the conduct of a
poll, the electoral administrator for the parish where the poll is held shall
provide one or more polling stations in such a way that the Autorisé is satisfied that all persons have
reasonable facilities for the exercise of their right to vote.[94]
(2) In each polling station
there shall be one or more booths.
(3) Each of those booths
shall contain a table or desk, with a pen or a pencil.
(4) [95]
(5) Each polling station
shall have, for each public election for which a poll is being taken on the
day, one or more ballot boxes to receive the votes cast in the poll.[96]
(6) A ballot box shall
be –
(a) marked,
in a manner approved by the Comité des Connétables, to indicate
the public election for which it is being used; and
(b) made
according to a model approved by the Comité des Connétables.[97]
27 Adjoints
(1) When it is necessary in
the same election to have more than one polling station within an electoral
district, the Autorisé shall appoint Adjoints to supervise in person the polling
stations not supervised in person by the Autorisé.
(2) The Autorisé may also appoint Adjoints to help him or her in the polling station
that the Autorisé supervises in person.
(3) The Autorisé shall include in the return a
record of the appointment and names of the Adjoints.
28 Persons
who may be present in polling station
(1) Each candidate shall
have the right to be present during the poll in each polling station where an
elector may vote for the candidate, if the candidate has notified the Autorisé in writing that he or she wishes to
exercise that right.
(2) A person shall have the
right to be present during the poll in each polling station where an elector
may vote for a candidate whom the person represents, if the candidate has
informed the Autorisé in writing of
the name of the representative and has notified the Autorisé
in writing that the candidate wishes the representative to exercise that right.
(3) However, a right under
this Article may be withdrawn by the Autorisé
from a person whom the Autorisé
believes on reasonable grounds has contravened Article 63 during the same
poll.
(4) A person who has the
right to vote in the poll shall have the right to enter and to remain in a
polling station as long as is necessary to obtain a ballot paper and cast his
or her vote.
(5) An Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of or assisting at a polling station has the right to be present
there during the poll.
29 Supervision
of polling station
(1) The Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of a polling station shall have control over the polling station and
its immediate vicinity during the election.
(2) The Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of a polling station may give such reasonable directions, and take
such reasonable measures, as are necessary within the polling station and in
its immediate vicinity to ensure the complete secrecy and regularity of the
vote at the polling station and to ensure that the requirements of this Law are
met.
30 Opening
and closing of poll[98]
(1) This Article applies in
every public election.
(2) The poll shall open at
8 a.m.
(3) At 8 p.m. on the
day of the poll, the Autorisé (or Adjoint) in charge of a polling station shall ask
in a loud voice outside the polling station whether there are other persons who
wish to vote.
(4) Ten minutes after the
question required by paragraph (3) has been asked, the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
shall, subject to paragraph (5), declare the poll closed in that polling
station.
(5) If, 10 minutes
after the question required by paragraph (3) has been asked, there are
still persons queueing in or outside the polling station to vote, the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
shall wait until they have voted before declaring the poll closed in that
polling station.
(6) The States may, by
Regulations, amend the expressions of time in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4).
31 Start
of polling
(1) The person presiding at
a nomination meeting shall cause the appropriate ballot papers to be delivered
to the Autorisé in each electoral
district where a poll is to be held in reasonable time for the commencement of
the poll.
(2) The electoral administrator
for the parish where the electoral district is situated shall cause a copy of
the electoral register for that district to be delivered to the Autorisé for that district, being a copy
that the electoral administrator has certified as correct and as being a copy
of the register in force for the election.[99]
(2A) If there is a supplementary
electoral register for the electoral district, the electoral administrator for
the parish where the electoral district is situated shall also cause a copy of
the supplementary electoral register in force for an election to be delivered
to the Autorisé for that district,
being a copy that the electoral administrator has certified as correct and as
being a true copy of original.[100]
(3) At the time fixed for
commencing the poll, the Autorisé (or Adjoint) in charge of a polling station shall open
the ballot boxes and shall show the persons present that they are empty, then
lock them and place seals on them in such a manner as to prevent their being
opened without breaking the seals.
(4) The poll shall then
commence.
32 Giving
ballot paper to elector
(A1) The Autorisé
(or Adjoint) in charge of a polling station
shall ensure that a ballot paper has been stamped on the front with an official
stamp, in such form as the States may prescribe by Regulations, before the
ballot paper is given to a person pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2A).[101]
(1) If only one poll for a
public election is being taken, the Autorisé
(or Adjoint) in charge of a polling station shall
give a ballot paper to each person who satisfies the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
that he or she is entitled to vote there.[102]
(2) An Autorisé (or Adjoint)
who gives a ballot paper to a person pursuant to paragraph (1) shall
–
(a) mark
off the name of the person on a copy of the electoral register or supplementary
electoral register, as the case requires, (or, in the case of a person whose
name has been omitted from a register as a result of administrative error, make
a note of the person’s name on a copy of the register and assign a serial
number for the person and record it on the copy of the register); and
(b) write
on the counterfoil of the ballot paper the electoral number of the person (or,
in the case of a person whose name has been omitted from a register as a result
of administrative error, the serial number for the person).[103]
(2A) If more than one poll for a public
election is being taken, the Autorisé
(or Adjoint) in charge of a polling station
shall –
(a) ask a
person wishing to vote in which of the polls the person wishes to vote; and
(b) give
the person a ballot paper for each of the polls –
(i) in which the
person wishes to vote, and
(ii) for
which the person satisfies the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
that he or she is entitled to vote there.[104]
(2B) An Autorisé
(or Adjoint) who gives a ballot paper to a
person pursuant to paragraph (2A) shall –
(a) in
the case of a person whose name has been omitted from a register as a result of
administrative error, make a note of the person’s name on a copy of the
electoral register or supplementary electoral register, as the case requires,
and assign a serial number to the person and record it on the copy of the
register;
(b) in
every case –
(i) mark, against the
name of the person on a copy of the electoral register or supplementary
electoral register, as the case requires, that the ballot paper has been given
to the person and the public election for which the ballot paper is to be used,
and
(ii) write
on the counterfoil of the ballot paper the electoral number of the person.[105]
(3) If the Autorisé or Adjoint
gives a ballot paper to a person whose name has been omitted from a register as
a result of administrative error, he or she shall make a note in the return of
the fact that the person was allowed to vote and, if more than one poll for a
public election is being taken, the elections for which the person was given a
ballot paper.[106]
(4) When giving ballot
papers to persons under this Article, the Autorisé
or Adjoint shall place himself or herself in
such a position as not to show the numbers on the ballot papers so delivered,
or on the counterfoils attached to them, to the candidates or to their
representatives.
32A Elector registered
to vote by post[107]
(1) This Article applies in
the case of an elector to whom a ballot paper has been sent or given by the
Judicial Greffier under Article 43.[108]
(2) If the elector attends
at the polling station and produces the ballot paper sent or given to him or
her by the Judicial Greffier, the Autorisé
(or Adjoint) may permit the elector to vote
in person, in accordance with Article 33, using the ballot paper.
(3) Where the elector has
recorded his or her vote on the ballot paper before producing it at the polling
station, the Autorisé (or Adjoint) shall take such steps as he or she
considers appropriate to ensure that the elector’s vote is kept secret.
(4) Where the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
permits the elector to vote in accordance with this Article, the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
shall –
(a) if
only one poll for a public election is being taken, mark off the name of the
person on a copy of the electoral register;
(b) if
more than one poll for a public election is being taken mark, against the name
of the person on a copy of the electoral register, the public election in which
the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
has permitted the elector to vote.[109]
(5) This Article does not
apply in the case of an elector whose name is omitted from the register under
Article 9.
33 Voting
(1) Once he or she has been
given a ballot paper in a polling station, a person shall go into one of the
booths there and remain in the booth only for the time necessary to record his
or her vote.
(2) A vote is recorded by
making a cross in the blank square opposite the name of each candidate of the
voter’s choice.
(3) A person who has
recorded a vote shall fold his or her ballot paper and place it in a ballot box
being used for the public election in which the vote is cast, and then
immediately leave the polling station.[110]
34 Doubtful
votes
(1) If, during the
election, an objection is made to a person’s voting or to a vote, the
vote shall be taken, but the objection shall be recorded in the return.
(2) If, after a ballot
paper has been delivered at a polling station to a person who claims to be a person
whose name appears on the electoral register or supplementary electoral
register, as the case requires, another person applies there to be allowed to
vote in that name, the Autorisé (or Adjoint) in charge of the polling station shall
request the latter person to sign a declaration in such form as the States may
prescribe by Regulations and (after obtaining that declaration and noting the
number of the ballot paper delivered to the earlier person by referring to its
counterfoil) shall furnish the person with a ballot paper.[111]
(3) The latter ballot paper
shall be considered doubtful, and the voter shall not put it into a ballot box,
but the Autorisé (or Adjoint) shall set it apart in an envelope and seal
the envelope immediately.
(4) The Autorisé (or Adjoint)
shall note in the return the circumstances of the taking of the doubtful ballot
paper.
35 Measures
to assist voting by certain persons who are ill, disabled etc.[112]
(1) An Autorisé or Adjoint
may take such measures as he or she considers appropriate for taking the vote
of a person entitled to vote in a public election if the person is prevented
from voting by reason that he or she is –
(a) ill,
disabled, illiterate or in custody; or
(b) the
carer of a person who is ill or disabled.
(2) A request for an Autorisé or an Adjoint
to take measures under paragraph (1) for the taking of a person’s
vote must be made no later than 3 hours before the poll closes.
(3) The measures taken for
taking the person’s vote –
(a) must
maintain secrecy in voting; and
(b) may
include a visit to the person for the purpose of delivering a ballot paper to
the person, attending whilst the person records his or her vote on it, and
bringing the ballot paper back to the polling station and placing it in the
ballot box.
35A Voters omitted
from a supplementary electoral register[113]
(1) Where a voter’s
name has been omitted from a supplementary electoral register under Article 9A(8) –
(a) the
electoral administrator for the parish shall inform the Autorisé; and
(b) the Autorisé or Adjoint
may take such measures as he or she considers appropriate for taking the
person’s vote on the day of the poll, provided secrecy in voting is
maintained.
(2) Article 35(3)
applies for the purposes of paragraph (1) of this Article as it applies
for the purposes of Article 35(1).[114]
36 Spoilt
ballot papers
If a person spoils the ballot paper that has been given to him or
her, he or she may obtain another from the Autorisé or an Adjoint,
on giving back to him or her the spoilt one, which shall forthwith be cancelled
and initialled by the Autorisé or Adjoint.
PART 7[115]
VOTING otherwise than at polling
station
37 Interpretation
(1) In this Part, unless
the context otherwise requires –
“pre-addressed envelope” means the pre-addressed
envelope sent or given by the Judicial Greffier, in accordance with Article 43,
to a person who wishes to postal vote;
“copy of the register” means a copy of an electoral
register in force for an election that is provided to the Judicial Greffier
under Article 41;
“voter” means a person entitled to vote at a poll for a
public election.
(2) In this Part, any
reference to pre-poll voting is a reference to voting in accordance with
Article 42.
38 Persons
entitled to pre-poll vote
Every voter, except a person entitled to vote only by virtue of
Article 4A, is entitled to pre-poll vote in accordance with this Part.[116]
39 Persons
entitled to postal vote
A voter is entitled to postal vote, in accordance with this Part, if –
(a) the person is likely to
be out of Jersey during the hours of polling;
(b) the person is, or will
on the day of a poll for a public election be, detained in a prison or other
penal institution and entitled to vote in that election only by virtue of Article 4A;
or
(c) the person’s name
and address are omitted from the electoral register under Article 9.[117]
39A Restriction on
pre-poll and postal voting[118]
Notwithstanding Articles 38 and 39 –
(a) a person who has
registered under Article 5A is not entitled to pre-poll vote or to apply
to postal vote before the date entered in the electoral register in his or her
case under Article 5A(6);
(b) a person whose name is
included in a supplementary electoral register in force for a public election
is not entitled to cast his or her vote in that election by pre-poll or postal
voting.
40 Judicial
Greffier to provide facilities and publicize arrangements for pre-poll and
postal voting[119]
(1) The Judicial Greffier
shall provide facilities at a location in St. Helier for voters to
pre-poll vote and postal vote in a public election.
(2) In the case of a public
election that is required by Article 6 of the States of Jersey Law 2005 or Article 2 of the Connétables (Jersey) Law 2008, the Judicial Greffier shall
also provide facilities for voters to pre-poll vote in the election on at least
2 Saturdays at, on each occasion, a different location that is not in
St. Helier.
(3) The Judicial Greffier
shall, when a public election has been ordered (not being an election of a
Centenier or Procureur du Bien Public), or when a poll becomes necessary in any
public election, take such steps as he or she believes are necessary to bring
to the attention of the public the arrangements for pre-poll voting and postal
voting in the election, in particular –
(a) in
relation to postal voting –
(i) the location of
the facilities provided under paragraph (1) for postal voting,
(ii) when
the facilities provided under paragraph (1) for postal voting shall be
open,
(iii) the
closing day and time for an application to postal vote, and
(iv) the
circumstances in which a person is entitled to postal vote;
(b) in
relation to pre-poll voting –
(i) the location of
the facilities provided under paragraph (1) and, if applicable, paragraph (2),
for pre-poll voting,
(ii) when
the facilities provided under paragraph (1) and, if applicable, under
paragraph (2), for pre-poll voting shall be open, and
(iii) the
closing day and time for pre-poll voting.
(4) The States may, by
Regulations, specify the days on which and times at which –
(a) the
facilities provided under paragraph (1) must be open for postal voting or
pre-poll voting; and
(b) the facilities
required under paragraph (2) must be open for pre-poll voting.
41 Judicial
Greffier to be provided with ballot papers and copies of registers
Each person presiding at a nomination meeting shall forward to the
Judicial Greffier, for the purposes of this Part –
(a) a copy of the electoral
register in force for the election; and
(b) a reasonable number of
ballot papers, which shall be indistinguishable from the other ballot papers
used in the election.
42 Procedure
for pre-poll voting
(1) A voter who wishes to
vote in a public election by casting his or her vote before the poll at a
location provided under Article 40(1) may do so by attending at the
location no later than 2 p.m. on the Monday before the day of the poll (or
such other time and day as the States have prescribed under Article 40(4)).[120]
(1A) A voter who wishes to vote in a
public election mentioned in Article 40(2) by casting his or her vote
before the poll may do so by attending at a location provided in accordance
with Article 40(2), on the day and at the times publicized in accordance
with Article 40(3)(b)(ii) (or such other day and at such other times as
the States have prescribed under Article 40(4)).[121]
(1B) The Judicial Greffier shall ensure
that a ballot paper has been stamped on the front with an official stamp, in
such form as the States may prescribe by Regulations, before the ballot paper
is given to a person pursuant to paragraph (2) or (5).[122]
(2) If only one poll for a
public election is being taken in an electoral district, the Judicial Greffier,
if satisfied that the person is entitled to vote in that poll, shall give to
the person –
(a) a
ballot paper; and
(b) a
ballot paper envelope marked with a code for the electoral district in which
the person is entitled to vote.
(3) Upon giving a ballot
paper to a person pursuant to paragraph (2), the Judicial Greffier
shall –
(a) mark
off the name of the person on the copy of the register; and
(b) write
on the counterfoil of the ballot paper the electoral number of the person.[123]
(4) Once the Judicial
Greffier has marked off a person’s name on the copy of the register, in
accordance with paragraph (3), the person is disqualified from voting in
the election except at the Judicial Greffe, in accordance with this Article.
(5) If more than one poll
for a public election is being taken in an electoral district, the Judicial
Greffier, if satisfied that the person is entitled to vote in the polls,
shall –
(a) ask
the person in which of the polls the person wishes to vote; and
(b) give
the person –
(i) a ballot paper
for each of the polls in which the person wishes to vote, and in which the
person satisfies the Judicial Greffier that he or she is entitled to vote, and
(ii) a
ballot paper envelope marked with a code for the electoral district in which
the person is entitled to vote.
(6) The Judicial Greffier
shall, on giving a ballot paper to a person pursuant to paragraph (5) –
(a) mark,
against the name of the person on the copy of the register, that the ballot
paper has been given to the person and the public election for which the ballot
paper is to be used; and
(b) write
on the counterfoil of the ballot paper the electoral number of the person[124].
(7) Once the Judicial
Greffier has, in accordance with paragraph (6), marked against a
person’s name on the copy of the register, that a ballot paper has been
given to the person for use in a public election, the person is disqualified
from voting in that election except at the Judicial Greffe, in accordance with
this Article.
(8) If the Judicial
Greffier gives a ballot paper to a person whose name has been omitted from the
electoral register as a result of administrative error, he or she shall make a
note in the return of the fact that the person was allowed to vote and, if more
than one poll for a public election is being taken, the elections for which the
person was given a ballot paper.[125]
(9) The voter shall mark
and fold a ballot paper as if the voter were voting under Part 6.
(10) When the voter has recorded
his or her vote on the ballot paper or papers, the voter shall immediately
place it or them in the ballot paper envelope, seal it and give it to the
Judicial Greffier.
(11) In the case of a person
entitled to vote in a public election who is prevented from voting by reason
that he or she is –
(a) ill, disabled,
or illiterate; or
(b) the
carer of a person who is ill or disabled,
the Judicial Greffier shall take such measures as he or she
considers appropriate for taking the person’s pre-poll vote.[126]
(12) Notwithstanding paragraph (1),
the measures referred to in paragraph (11) –
(a) must
be taken before the time mentioned in paragraph (1);
(b) must
maintain secrecy in voting; and
(c) may
include a visit to the person for the purpose of the person pre-poll voting at
a place other than a location provided by the Judicial Greffier under Article 40.[127]
(13) Article 36 shall apply
for the purposes of this Article as if the reference in it to the Autorisé or Adjoint
was a reference to the Judicial Greffier.
43 Application
to postal vote
(1) A voter who wishes to postal
vote in a public election must apply to the Judicial Greffier, before the
closing time specified under Article 40(3)(a).
(2) When the Judicial
Greffier receives an application that is properly made under paragraph (1)
the Judicial Greffier shall, if satisfied that the applicant is entitled to
postal vote –
(a) mark
against the name of the voter in the copy of the register, that a ballot paper
has been sent or given to the voter for each public election in which the voter
wishes and is entitled to vote, without marking the number of the ballot paper
on the register;
(b) stamp
the front of a ballot paper with an official stamp, in such form as the States
may prescribe by Regulations, being a stamp that also marks on the counterfoil
of the ballot paper the code for the voter’s electoral district;
(c) send
or give to the voter –
(i) a stamped ballot
paper for each public election in which the voter wishes and is entitled to
vote,
(ii) a
ballot paper envelope,
(iii) a
form of declaration of identity, and
(iv) a
pre-addressed envelope, addressed to the Judicial Greffier, and marked with the
code for the voter’s electoral district and a number assigned to the
voter.
(3) Except as permitted by
Article 32A, once the Judicial Greffier has marked the copy of the register
in accordance with paragraph (2)(a), the voter may only postal vote in the
election.
(4) Where the Judicial
Greffier receives an application after any closing time notified to the public
under Article 40(3)(a), the Judicial Greffier may, if he or she considers
there are exceptional circumstances which justify doing so, accept the
application and treat it as properly made for the purposes of this Part.[128]
44 Procedure
for postal voting
(1) To postal vote, a voter
shall mark and fold each ballot paper, as if the voter were voting under Part 6,
place the ballot paper or papers in the ballot paper envelope provided by the
Judicial Greffier and then seal the envelope.
(2) The voter must also
complete the declaration of identity provided by the Judicial Greffier and sign
it.[129]
(3) Where the form of
declaration of identity is witnessed by an officer of the Judicial Greffe, the
witness shall not be required to state his or her address.
(4) The voter shall then
return to the Judicial Greffier, in the pre-addressed envelope –
(a) the
ballot paper envelope, containing the ballot paper or papers; and
(b) the
completed declaration of identity.
(5) Except as permitted by
Article 32A, a postal vote shall be included in the count for a poll only
if the pre-addressed envelope is received by the Judicial Greffier no later
than noon on the day of the poll.[130]
(6) The Judicial Greffier
shall record the number of pre-addressed envelopes that he or she receives in
accordance with paragraph (5).
45 Duty
of Judicial Greffier to provide information to Autorisé
before poll opens
After the time specified in Article 42(1) and before the poll
opens, the Judicial Greffier shall cause to be delivered to each Autorisé supervising the poll –
(a) the copy of the
register that relates to the Autorisé’s
electoral district, as it has been marked by the Judicial Greffier in
accordance with this Part; and
(b) the unused ballot
papers and the counterfoils of the used ballot papers, relating to pre-poll and
postal voting for that electoral district.
46 Duty
of Judicial Greffier to forward votes to Autorisé
before poll closes
Before the poll closes, the Judicial Greffier shall cause to be
delivered to each Autorisé supervising the poll for an electoral district –
(a) the ballot paper
envelopes for the electoral district, given to the Judicial Greffier in
accordance with Article 42, still unopened; and
(b) the pre-addressed
envelopes for the electoral district, received by the Judicial Greffier in
accordance with Article 44(5), still unopened.
46A Duties of Autorisé on receipt of pre-poll and postal
votes
(1) Each Autorisé shall ensure that he or she has,
for the purposes of the poll, a copy of the register for his or her electoral
district on which there has been marked the names of the persons disqualified
(subject to Article 32A) from voting at the polling station by virtue of
Article 42(4) or (7) or 43(3).
(2) On receipt of the
ballot paper envelopes and pre-addressed envelopes delivered by the Judicial
Greffier under Article 46, the Autorisé
shall count their number and enter their respective totals in the return.
(3) The Autorisé shall, before the close of the
poll, open each ballot paper envelope delivered under Article 46(a) and
place the ballot paper or papers in the appropriate ballot box.
(4) The Autorisé shall, before the close of the
poll, open each pre-addressed envelope and, if satisfied that the declaration
of identity is made by the voter to whom the number on the pre-addressed
envelope is assigned, and that the declaration has been duly
completed –
(a) open
the ballot paper envelope contained in the pre-addressed envelope and place the
ballot paper or papers in the appropriate ballot box; and
(b) attach
the declaration of identity and the pre-addressed envelope to a copy of the register.
(5) If not satisfied as
described in paragraph (4), the Autorisé
shall reject the ballot paper or papers by endorsing the ballot paper envelope
with the words “VOTE REJECTED” and placing the ballot paper
envelope unopened, with the declaration of identity and the pre-addressed
envelope, in a package used solely for that purpose.
(6) Where a pre-addressed
envelope, on being opened pursuant to paragraph (4), is found not to
contain the declaration of identity, but the Autorisé
has reasonable grounds for believing that the declaration is in the ballot
paper envelope, the Autorisé may open
the ballot paper envelope and remove the declaration of identity (if there).
(7) A ballot paper shall
not be rejected by reason only that the Autorisé
has opened the ballot paper envelope pursuant to paragraph (6) and removed
the declaration of identity.
(8) At the conclusion of
the voting but before the ballot boxes are opened for the purpose of counting
the votes, the Autorisé shall seal the
package referred to in paragraph (5), and, in a further separate package
used solely for the purpose, the Autorisé
shall seal the documents and copy of the register referred to in paragraph (4)(b).
(9) The Autorisé shall sign each package and
indicate on it –
(a) the
office for which the election is being held;
(b) the
place and date of the poll;
(c) the
names of the candidates; and
(d) the
contents of the package.
(10) As soon as possible after the
election, the Autorisé shall forward
the 2 sealed packages to the Judicial Greffier.
46B Name accidentally
omitted from electoral register
(1) If it appears to the
Judicial Greffier that the name of a person attending to pre-poll vote or
applying to postal vote is not included in the electoral register for the
electoral district specified by the person, the Judicial Greffier shall notify
the person accordingly.
(2) The person may, if he
or she believes that his or her name has been omitted from the electoral
register as a result of an administrative error, apply to the Judicial Greffier
for his or her name to be added to the register, indicating his or her belief
that there has been such an omission.
(3) The Judicial Greffier
may –
(a) consult
the electoral administrator or another officer of the parish where the
electoral district is located before deciding whether the name of the person
has been omitted from the electoral register as a result of an administrative
error; and
(b) refuse
the application unless it is supported by such evidence or information as the
Judicial Greffier may require by notice served on the applicant.[131]
(4) If the Judicial
Greffier is then satisfied that the name of the person has been omitted from
the electoral register as a result of an administrative error, the Judicial
Greffier shall –
(a) add
the name to the copy of the register; and
(b) give
notice of the addition to the Autorisé for the relevant electoral district.
(5) The Autorisé shall –
(a) make
a note of the person’s name on his or her own copy of the electoral
register; and
(b) assign
a serial number for the person and –
(i) record it on the
copy of the register, and
(ii) notify
the Judicial Greffier of it.
(6) The Judicial Greffier
shall make a note on the copy of the register of the serial number assigned to
the person.
46C Formalities
where person’s name is omitted from electoral register under Article 9
(1) This Article applies in
the case of a person who, by virtue of his or her name and address being
omitted from the electoral register under Article 9, may only pre-poll or
postal vote.
(2) Where any provision of
this Part requires the Judicial Greffier to make a note against the name of the
person in a copy of the register, the Judicial Greffier shall instead make a
note against the entry made under Article 9(6)(b) in respect of, and the
electoral number for, the person.
(3) Articles 42 and 43
shall apply as if the references in them to marking off or against the
person’s name in the copy of the register were references to making the
mark in accordance with this Article.
(4) Notwithstanding Article 46,
the Judicial Greffier shall open a pre-addressed envelope received from the
person under Article 44 and –
(a) if he
or she is satisfied as to the matters described in Article 46A(4), shall
deliver the pre-addressed envelope to the Autorisé, opened and with the declaration of identity removed;
(b) if he
or she is not so satisfied, take the action described in Article 46A(5).
(5) The Judicial Greffier
may take the action described in Article 46A(6) where he or she opens a
pre-addressed envelope under paragraph (4) of this Article, and a ballot
paper shall not be rejected by reason only that he or she has so acted.
(6) Where the Judicial
Greffier delivers a pre-addressed envelope to the Autorisé
under paragraph (4)(a) –
(a) the Autorisé shall not be required to satisfy himself or herself as to the
matters described in Article 46A(4); and
(b) Article 46A(4)(b)
shall have effect as if the reference in it to the form of declaration of
identity was omitted.
(7) The Judicial Greffier shall –
(a) place
the forms of declaration of identity removed under paragraph (4)(a) in a
package used solely for that purpose; and
(b) seal
the package, sign it, and indicate on it the information described in Article 46A(9).
46D Candidate or
representative not to interfere with application to postal vote
(1) A candidate, or a
representative of a candidate shall not –
(a) complete,
on behalf of a person entitled to postal vote, or assist such a person in
completing, any form required to be completed for the purposes of an
application to postal vote; or
(b) deliver,
or cause to be delivered, to the Judicial Greffier, on behalf of a such a
person, any form or supporting documents required for the purposes of an
application to postal vote.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall
not prohibit a candidate or representative of a candidate providing a person
entitled to postal vote with the form (if any) required to make an application
to postal vote.
PART 8
COUNT
A47 [132]
47 Designation
of counting stations[133]
(1) Where there is one electoral
district in the constituency in which the public election is held, and one
polling station in that electoral district, that polling station shall be taken
to have been designated as the location for the count of the votes in that
election.
(2) Where there is one
electoral district in the constituency in which a public election is held, and
2 or more polling stations in the electoral district, the principal Autorisé shall designate one or more of the
polling stations in the electoral district as locations for the count of the
votes in that election.
(3) Where there are 2 or
more electoral districts in the constituency in which a public election is
held, the principal Autorisé shall
designate one or more of the polling stations in those electoral districts
as locations for the count of the votes in that election.[134]
(4) [135]
(5) Before making a
designation under paragraph (2), the principal Autorisé
must consult the electoral administrator for the parish which is, or part of
which is, the electoral district.[136]
(5A) Before making a designation under
paragraph (3), the principal Autorisé
must consult –
(a) the
electoral administrator for each parish which, together with one or more
other parishes, comprises the constituency; and
(b) the Autorisés for each of the other electoral districts in the constituency.[137]
(6) Where votes cast at a
polling station are not to be counted there, the designation under paragraph (2)
or (3) must specify the counting station at which the votes from that polling
station are to be counted.[138]
(7) A designation under paragraph (2)
or (3) must be notified to the candidates in the election, and made public, in
such a way as is likely to bring it to the attention of voters in the poll, no
later than 7 days before the day of the poll.[139]
47A Supervision of polling station after
close of poll[140]
(1) The Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of a polling station shall have control over it, and its immediate
vicinity, whilst the requirements of this Part are complied with.
(2) The Autorisé (or Adjoint)
may give such reasonable directions and take such reasonable measures as are
necessary within the polling station, and its immediate vicinity, to ensure
that procedures conducted under this Part are not disrupted, impeded or
interfered with and that the requirements of this Part are otherwise met.
48 Procedures at polling
station after close of the poll[141]
(1) Where votes may be cast
at a polling station in 2 or more public elections, or in one or more public
elections and a referendum, the Autorisé
(or Adjoint) in charge of a polling station
may, after the close of the poll –
(a) open
the ballot boxes; and
(b) transfer
any vote that has been placed in a ballot box that is being used for a public
election or referendum other than that in which the vote is cast from that
ballot box to the ballot box that is being used for the public election or
referendum in which the vote is cast.
(2) Ballot boxes shall be
opened and votes transferred under paragraph (1) in the presence
of –
(a) any
candidates in any of those elections for whom a vote could have been cast in
that electoral district and who wish to be present; and
(b) any
of their representatives duly appointed under Article 28 who wish to be
present.
(3) In paragraphs (1)
and (2) –
“ballot box” includes a ballot box being used in a
referendum;
“referendum” means a referendum held under the Referendum
(Jersey) Law 2002.
(4) In any public election,
the Autorisé (or Adjoint) in charge of a polling station shall,
after the close of the poll and after any transfer of votes permitted by
paragraph (1) has taken place –
(a) seal
the ballot boxes so as to prevent the introduction of additional ballot papers;
and
(b) place
the booklets containing the unused ballot papers and their counterfoils, the
counterfoils of the used ballot papers, the spoilt ballot papers and their
counterfoils and the copies of the electoral register used at the polling
station in packages and seal them.
(5) The Autorisé (or Adjoint)
shall sign each package prepared under paragraph (4)(b) and indicate on
it –
(a) the
office for which the public election is held;
(b) the
name of the polling station and date of the poll;
(c) the
names of the candidates; and
(d) the
contents of the package.
(6) In a case where a
polling station is not also the counting station, the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of that polling station shall forthwith forward the ballot boxes, and
the packages prepared under paragraph (4)(b), to the Autorisé in charge of the counting station
at which the votes in those ballot boxes are to be counted.
49 Counting[142]
(1) The Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of a counting station must satisfy himself or herself that he or she
has all the ballot boxes used and all the packages prepared under Article 48(4)(b),
in a public election, for the votes in that public election that are to be
counted at that station.
(2) Once satisfied, the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
shall proceed to the count.
(3) As part of the count,
the Autorisé (or Adjoint) shall determine –
(a) the
number of ballot papers in the ballot boxes (whether valid or invalid); and
(b) the
number of counterfoils of used ballot papers.
(4) If the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
decides that it is not possible to proceed to the count immediately, the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
shall –
(a) ensure
that the ballot boxes and associated packages for the votes in that election
that are to be counted at that counting station are kept secure from
interference until such time as it is possible to commence the count, in
accordance with this Article; and
(b) inform
the persons entitled under paragraph (5) to be present at the count of the
time when the count shall commence.
(5) The count shall be
carried out in the presence of –
(a) any
candidates for whom a vote could have been cast in an electoral district from
which the votes are to be counted at the counting station and who wish to be
present at the count; and
(b) any
of their representatives duly appointed under Article 28 that wish to be
present at the count.
(6) Adjoints shall assist the Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of a counting station in the count.
(7) The ballot boxes shall
be opened, and the ballot papers in them shall be counted, in such a way that
the serial numbers on the ballot papers cannot be seen.
50 Recording
the numbers at a counting station[143]
(1) The following numbers
shall be determined and recorded by the Autorisé
(or Adjoint) in charge of a counting station,
in relation to the votes counted at that station in a public
election –
(a) the
number of valid votes obtained by each candidate;
(b) the
number of invalid ballot papers; and
(c) the
number of valid ballot papers.
(2) The used ballot papers
shall be arranged in 2 groups, depending on whether they are valid or
invalid, then the groups shall be placed in packages and each package shall be
sealed, signed by the Autorisé (or Adjoint) and marked with –
(a) the
office for which the public election is held;
(b) the
date of the poll;
(c) the
names of the candidates;
(d) the
number and character of the ballot papers that it encloses;
(e) the
names of the polling stations from which the votes have been counted at the
counting station; and
(f) the
name of the counting station.
51 Invalid
ballot papers
(1) A ballot paper is
invalid for the purposes of this Law –
(a) if
the ballot paper has not been given to a person under Article 32 or 42 or
sent or given to a person under Article 43;
(b) if it
does not bear the stamp referred to in Article 32(A1), 42(1B) or 43(2)(b);
(c) if it
has been cancelled in accordance with Article 36;
(d) if it
has been rejected under Article 46A(5) (including that provision as
applied by Article 46C(4)(b));
(e) if it
does not clearly record a vote;
(f) if
it records more votes than there are vacancies; or
(g) if it
records a vote for any person other than those whose names are printed on it.[144]
(1A) A ballot paper is not invalid, for
the purposes of this Law, by reason only that it is given to a person, or a
person’s vote cast, in accordance with measures taken under Article 35
or 42(11).[145]
(2) For the purposes of
this Law, the decision of the Autorisé
shall be final on every question as to the validity of a disputed ballot paper.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2),
the Royal Court is not prevented from making its own determination on such a
decision or such a question if the election is disputed.
(4) The Autorisé shall initial every disputed ballot
paper and mention it in the return.
Part 8A[146]
RESULT
52 Result
in election for one or more Senators[147]
(1) This Article applies to
a public election for one or more Senators.
(2) An Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of a counting station who is not the principal Autorisé in relation to the election shall
forthwith forward to the principal Autorisé –
(a) the
packages prepared under Article 50(2); and
(b) the
packages prepared under Article 48(4)(b), associated with the votes
counted in that election at the counting station.
(3) The principal Autorisé must satisfy himself or herself
that he or she has all of the packages, described in paragraph (2), for
all of the counting stations in the parish.
(4) Once satisfied, the
principal Autorisé shall add the
results of the counts in the parish.
(5) The principal Autorisé shall then inform such of the
candidates and their representatives as are present of the votes recorded in
the counts in the parish and show them the spoilt ballot papers.
(6) Persons who were
entitled to vote in the election in the parish who wish to attend shall then be
admitted into the counting station at which the principal Autorisé is in charge.
(7) The principal Autorisé shall announce the number of valid
votes recorded for each candidate in the count in the parish.
(8) The principal Autorisé shall inform the Judicial Greffier
of the numbers so announced.
(9) The Judicial Greffier
shall –
(a) add
the results of the counts in each parish and determine the result of the
election;
(b) at 4 p.m.
on the day following the poll, at the Judicial Greffe, inform such of the
candidates and their representatives as are then present, of the results of the
election; and
(c) if no
request for a recount is made under Article 52AA or, after a recount has
been conducted, the Judicial Greffier shall announce the results of the
election and declare the total number of votes cast and the number of valid
votes obtained by each candidate.
52A Result in other
public elections[148]
(1) This Article applies to
a public election other than an election for one or more Senators.
(2) In the case of an
election for which there is more than one counting station in the
constituency –
(a) an Autorisé (or Adjoint)
in charge of a counting station who is not the principal Autorisé shall forthwith forward to the principal Autorisé –
(i) the package
prepared under Article 50(2), and
(ii) the
packages prepared under Article 48(4)(b), associated with the votes
counted in that election at the counting station;
(b) the
principal Autorisé must satisfy himself or herself that he or she has all of the
packages, described in sub-paragraph (a), from all of the counting
stations in the constituency;
(c) once
satisfied, the principal Autorisé shall add the results of the counts in the constituency.
(3) In every case –
(a) the
principal Autorisé shall inform such of the candidates and their representatives as
are present of the votes recorded in the count or counts in the constituency
and show them the spoilt ballot papers;
(b) persons
who were entitled to vote in the election who wish to attend shall then be
admitted into the counting station at which the principal Autorisé is in charge;
(c) the
principal Autorisé shall announce the results of the election and declare the number
of valid votes obtained by each candidate.
52AA Recounts[149]
(1) An unsuccessful
candidate in an election or his or her representative may, within 24 hours
of being informed of the result, request a recount on the ground that the
difference between –
(a) the
number of votes cast for the unsuccessful candidate; and
(b) the
number of votes cast for the person elected,
is 1% or less of the total number of votes cast in the election (and
where more than one person is elected, the ‘person elected’ for the
purposes of sub-paragraph (b) means the person with the lowest number of
votes).
(2) Without prejudice to
paragraph (1) an unsuccessful candidate in an election for one or more
Senators or his or her representative may, within 24 hours of being
informed of the result, request a recount on the ground that the difference
between –
(a) the
number of votes cast for the unsuccessful candidate; and
(b) the
number of votes cast for the person elected,
is 1% or less of the number in sub-paragraph (b) (and where
more than one person is elected, the ‘person elected’ for the
purposes of sub-paragraph (b) means the person with the lowest number of
votes).
(3) A recount requested in
an election for one or more Senators shall be conducted by the Judicial
Greffier in accordance with Article 52B.
(4) A recount requested in
any other public election shall be conducted by the principal Autorisé in accordance with Article 52C.
(5) Neither the Judicial
Greffier nor a principal Autorisé is
required to conduct more than one recount upon one or more requests being made
for a recount of the results in a public election.
52B Procedure for
recount in election for one or more Senators[150]
(1) A recount in an
election for one or more Senators shall be conducted by the Judicial Greffier.
(2) The Judicial Greffier
may engage such assistance in the recount as he or she requires.
(3) An Autorisé and his or her Adjoints shall comply with any request made by the
Judicial Greffier for assistance in conducting a recount in the electoral
district for which the Autorisé was
appointed.
(4) Notwithstanding Article 55,
the Judicial Greffier may, for the purposes of the recount, open the packages
containing the used ballot papers and the counterfoils of the used ballot
papers.
(5) The Judicial Greffier
shall announce the result of the recount.
52C Procedure
for recount by Autorisé[151]
(1) This Article applies
where –
(a) an Autorisé is requested by the Judicial Greffier, under Article 52B(3) to
conduct a recount in his or her electoral district; or
(b) a
principal Autorisé conducts a recount following a request under Article 52AA(1).[152]
(2) If an Autorisé decides that it is not possible to
proceed to a recount of votes in a public election immediately, and packages
from the election are in his or her possession, the Autorisé
shall –
(a) ensure
that the packages from the election are kept secure from interference until
such time as it is possible to commence the recount; and
(b) inform
the persons entitled under paragraph (3) to be present at the count of the
time when the recount shall commence.[153]
(3) A recount shall be
carried out in the presence of the same persons who were entitled, by Article 49(3),
to be present at the count and who wish to be present at the recount.
(4) If an Autorisé (or Adjoint)
has already forwarded papers associated with an election to another Autorisé or to the Royal Court, and those
papers are required by the Autorisé
(or Adjoint) for the purposes of the recount,
the papers shall be returned to him or her.[154]
(5) Notwithstanding Article 55,
an Autorisé shall, for the purposes of
the recount, open the packages containing the used ballot papers and the
counterfoils of the used ballot papers, if these have already been sealed.
(6) The Adjoints shall assist the Autorisé in the recount.
(7) Autorisés who are not the principal Autorisé, and Adjoints,
shall assist the principal Autorisé in
the recount.[155]
(8) The principal Autorisé shall announce the result of the
recount.[156]
PART 9
AFTER RESULT OBTAINED
53 Completion
of return and delivery of papers[157]
(1) Each principal Autorisé for an election for one or more
Senators, or the principal Autorisé
for any other public election, shall prepare and sign a return for the
election.
(2) Subject to paragraph (5),
the return shall state, for a public election –
(a) the
number of valid votes obtained by each candidate;
(b) the
number of invalid ballot papers;
(c) the
number of valid ballot papers;
(d) the
number of voters; and
(e) the
names of the counting stations and the names of the polling stations from which
the votes were counted at each counting station.
(3) Subject to paragraph (5),
the principal Autorisé shall annex to
the return the declarations made in accordance with Articles 3 and 34.
(4) Subject to paragraph (5),
the principal Autorisé shall, as soon
as possible after the election, forward to the Judicial Greffier –
(a) the
return; and
(b) the
packages prepared in accordance with Articles 48(4)(b and 50(2) in
connection with the public election, whether prepared by the principal Autorisé or received by him or her in accordance with Article 52(2) or
52A(2).
(5) In the case of an
election for one or more Senators –
(a) one
of the principal Autorisés shall comply with paragraph (3); and
(b) the
numbers and names given in the return and the registers and papers sent to the
Judicial Greffier by a principal Autorisé under paragraph (4) shall relate only to conduct of the poll
and the votes cast in the parish for which that principal Autorisé is designated.
(6) If, after the principal
Autorisé has completed a return for a
public election, there is a recount of the votes cast in the election, the
principal Autorisé shall, following
the recount, complete a further return for the election and forward it to the
Judicial Greffier as soon as possible.
(7) A return shall be
admitted in any court of law as proof of the facts that are set out in it.
(8) The Judicial Greffier
shall, on demand, make a return available during normal office hours for
inspection by any person who was a candidate in the election to which the
return relates and shall, on demand and payment of the reasonable costs of
copying, provide a copy of it to such a candidate.
54 Report
to Royal Court and arrangements for taking of oath[158]
(1) The Judicial Greffier
shall –
(a) report
the results of a public election to the Royal Court; and
(b) give
notice to the person or persons elected to appear in the Royal Court to take
the customary oath.
(2) Where a recount is to
be conducted by an Autorisé or the
Judicial Greffier and the result of the recount will not be known before the
time notified for the person or persons elected in the election to appear in
the Royal Court to take the customary oath, the Judicial Greffier shall make
arrangements for the administration of the oath to the persons elected in the
election to be deferred until after the result of the recount is known.
55 Secrecy
of used ballot papers
The packages containing the used ballot papers and the counterfoils
of the used ballot papers shall not be opened except in accordance with Article 59.
56 Documents
to be kept then destroyed
(1) The returns, and, if a
poll was held, the copies of the registers used in the poll, the used and
unused ballot papers, the counterfoils of the used ballot papers, the documents
that were in the sealed packages referred to in Articles 46A(8) and 46C(7)
and, in general, all documents relating to a public election shall remain in
the custody of the Judicial Greffier for a period of 12 months following the day
which has been fixed for delivering the returns to the Royal Court.[159]
(2) The Judicial Greffier
shall cause those documents to be destroyed at the end of that period if they
are not required in a case pending before the Royal Court at that time.
(3) If they are so required
at that time, the Judicial Greffier shall cause them to be destroyed as soon as
the case has been finally disposed of.
PART 10
DISPUTED ELECTIONS
57 Application
to Royal Court
(1) Every case of a
disputed public election shall be dealt with by the Royal Court.
(2) Any person, whether or
not a candidate in an election, may dispute a public election by making
application to the Royal Court, being an application on oath setting out the
grounds for the dispute and made before the end of the period of 12 months
following the day that has been fixed for delivering the returns to the Royal
Court.[160]
58 Procedure
(1) In a case where a
public election is disputed, the Royal Court shall –
(a) order
that the parties shall appear before the Judicial Greffier to state their
allegations and pleas; and
(b) by order,
fix the day when the parties are to appear in the Royal Court with witnesses,
being a day within 6 weeks after the date of the order where the election has
been for Senator, and within one month after the date of the order in the case
of any other election.
(2) If a plaintiff fails to
proceed before the Judicial Greffier, so as to complete his or her case within
the time allowed by the Royal Court, his or her objection shall be set aside,
and the plaintiff shall be ordered to pay the recoverable and non-recoverable
costs of the case.
59 Examination
of papers
(1) If the count is
disputed, or the decision of the Autorisé
as to a disputed ballot paper is disputed, the Royal Court may order that the
packages containing the relevant used ballot papers (both valid and invalid) be
opened.
(2) If the validity of the
ballot papers is disputed, the Royal Court may order that the parties may
examine the relevant used ballot papers (both valid and invalid) at the Judicial
Greffe.
(3) If the Royal Court
upholds an objection to a vote, the packages containing the relevant ballot
papers and their counterfoils may be opened and, if so, the relevant ballot
paper and its counterfoil shall be taken out and kept apart.
(4) In all the cases
referred to in this Article, the Royal Court shall cause the packages, if
opened, to be re-sealed as soon as the examination which made their opening
necessary has been completed.
60 Discounting
numbers of votes[161]
If the Royal Court upholds a dispute that turns on any of the
following circumstances, it shall order that the relevant return be amended by
subtracting from the number of valid votes the number of votes (if any) cast by
persons in those circumstances –
(a) that the name of a person
was wrongly included on the electoral register in force for the election or the
supplementary electoral register in force for the election (if any);
(b) that a person who voted
was, at the time of voting, disqualified from voting because of Article 4;
(ba) that a person who voted was
not, by virtue of Article 2(3A), entitled to vote in the election;
(c) that a person accepted,
directly or indirectly, any gift, promise or advantage in consideration of
voting in favour of a candidate;
(d) that a person falsely
represented himself or herself as being a person included on the electoral
register in force for the election or the supplementary electoral register in
force for the election (if any);
(e) that a person recorded
his or her vote in a manner contrary to the requirements of this Law.
61 Declaration
of vacancy, or that entire election void[162]
(1) The Royal Court shall
declare the election of a candidate void and a casual vacancy in the office
left vacant as a consequence if –
(a) the
Court finds that the candidate elected to that office –
(i) is disqualified
for such election, or
(ii) has
committed an offence against Article 62 or 64 at the election;
(b) the
Court finds that the candidate’s nomination did not comply with the
requirements of this Law; or
(c) the
candidate elected to that office does not for any reason take the oath of
office before the Royal Court.
(2) Except as provided by
paragraph (1), if the Royal Court finds that a public election has not
been conducted in a constituency in accordance with the requirements of this
Law the Royal Court may –
(a) declare
the election of one or more candidates in the election in that constituency
void and a casual vacancy in the offices left vacant as a consequence; or
(b) declare
the election void in the constituency.
(3) Notwithstanding
paragraph (1)(b), if the Royal Court considers that any defect in a
candidate’s nomination is not a matter of substance and has not affected
the result of the election, the Court shall not make a declaration under
paragraph (1).
(4) Notwithstanding
paragraph (2), if the Royal Court considers that any failure to conduct an
election in accordance with the requirements of this Law is not a matter of
substance and has not affected the result of the election, the Court shall not
make a declaration under paragraph (2).
PART 11
OFFENCES
62 Inducements
and threats
(1) A person shall be
guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the
standard scale if, with intent to obtain a vote for himself or herself, or for
any other person, at a public election, or an abstention from voting at a
public election, the person –
(a) gives,
offers or promises money, any article of value or any advantage to any person;
(b) publishes
a false statement about a person who is a candidate at the election knowing the
statement to be untrue; or
(c) assaults
or threatens any person.
(2) A person shall be
guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the
standard scale if he or she receives or accepts any money, any article of
value, or any advantage, knowing that it has been given, offered or promised
with the intent referred to in paragraph (1).
62A Interference with
postal and pre-poll voting[163]
A candidate or representative of a candidate who contravenes Article 46D(1)
shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of level 3 on the
standard scale.
63 Behaviour
inside polling station
(1) At a public election, a
candidate or representative of a candidate shall not engage a voter in
conversation inside a polling station.
(2) At a public election, a
person shall not attempt inside a polling station to influence a voter by means
of any sign or clothing or otherwise.
(3) At a public election, a
candidate (or representative of a candidate referred to in Article 28)
shall not attempt to ascertain a number on a ballot paper or counterfoil.
(4) Except as provided in Article 28,
a person shall not, without lawful excuse, enter or remain in a polling station
during a poll at a public election.
(5) A person who
contravenes this Article shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not
exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.
64 Interference
with poll
(1) A person shall be
guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the
standard scale if, at a public election, the person –
(a) discloses
any vote given secretly other than his or her own;
(b) alters
a counterfoil fraudulently;
(c) alters
a ballot paper fraudulently for the purpose of rendering it invalid or of
changing the vote recorded on it;
(d) removes
or adds a ballot paper fraudulently; or
(e) knowingly
states any number of ballot papers to be greater or less than the number the person
believes to have been determined during the count.
(2) A person shall be
guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the
standard scale if he or she, knowingly and without authority for the purpose,
opens or causes to be opened any ballot box, package or envelope containing
ballot papers, or counterfoils, that have been used at a public election.
65 Voting
without the right
A person shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding
level 3 on the standard scale if, at a public election and with fraudulent
intent, the person has –
(a) voted, or presented himself
or herself to vote, in the name and in the place of another person;
(b) represented himself or
herself as having the right to vote at a public election when the person did
not have that right; or
(c) voted without the right
to do so at a public election.
66 Various
offences
(1) A person shall be
guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the
standard scale if he or she does any of the following –
(a) knowingly
makes a false declaration, or gives false information, for the purposes of this
Law;
(b) with
fraudulent intent procures the registration of himself or herself on more than
one electoral register;
(c) votes
or attempts to vote at a public election in an electoral district for which the
person is not registered;
(d) votes
or attempts to vote at a public election in more than one electoral district;
(e) having
had his or her name included on the register of postal and pre-poll voters
under this Law, votes, or attempts to vote, in person at a public election
(otherwise than by casting a pre-poll vote at the Judicial Greffe);
(f) except
with lawful authority, removes a ballot paper from a polling station at a
public election;
(g) fails
to comply with a reasonable direction of the Autorisé given under Article 29(2) or 46A(2) or under any other
provision of this Law.[164]
(2) Without prejudice to
any penalty imposed under paragraph (1), the Royal Court may disqualify a person
found guilty under that paragraph from voting at public elections for a period
not exceeding 4 years.
(3) A candidate (or a
representative of a candidate referred to in Article 28) at a public
election shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding
level 2 on the standard scale if, at an examination under Article 59
of ballot papers used at the election, he or she examines or attempts to
examine a counterfoil so used.
67 Aiding
and abetting
A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of an
offence under this Law shall be liable to be dealt with, tried and punished as
a principal offender.
68 Limitation
on prosecution and civil action
No civil action, or criminal prosecution, arising from facts that
have occurred at a public election or relate to a public election, may be
instituted under this Law after the expiration of 12 months from the date of
the election.[165]
PART 12
MISCELLANEOUS
A69 Observers[166]
(1) The Privileges and
Procedures Committee, after consultation with the Chief Minister, may appoint
one or more observers of a public election.
(2) The Privileges and
Procedures Committee shall, as soon as possible after making an appointment
under paragraph (1), present to the States a report informing the States
of the appointment.
(3) Notwithstanding any
provision of this Law, but subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), an observer
appointed under paragraph (1) –
(a) shall,
at his or her request, be provided by the electoral administrator for a parish
with a copy, free of charge, of any electoral register in force for the
election;
(b) has
the right to be present when pre-poll votes are taken pursuant to Article 42;
(c) has
the right to be present in any polling station where an elector may vote in the
election –
(i) while
preparations are being made to open the poll, and
(ii) during
the poll; and
(d) has
the right to be present during any count in the election.
(4) An observer exercising
the right conferred by paragraph (3)(b) or (c) shall not –
(a) attempt
to influence a voter by means of any sign or clothing, in conversation, or
otherwise; or
(b) do
anything to compromise the secrecy and integrity of pre-poll voting or voting
at a polling station.
(5) An observer exercising
the right conferred by paragraph (3)(b) shall comply with any directions
given to the observer by the Judicial Greffier for the purpose of ensuring the
complete secrecy and regularity of pre-poll voting under Article 42.
(6) An observer exercising
the right conferred by paragraph (3)(c) or (d) shall comply with such
directions as are given to him or her by an Autorisé
(or Adjoint) under Article 29(2) or
47A(2).
(7) An observer who
contravenes paragraph (4) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a
fine of level 2 on the standard scale.
(8) An observer who
contravenes paragraph (5) or (6) shall be guilty of an offence and liable
to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale.
69 How
documents may be sent or served
(1) Any notice, return,
ballot paper or other document required or authorized by or under this Law to
be sent to or served on a person, may be served –
(a) by
delivering it to that person;
(b) by
leaving it at the person’s proper address; or
(c) by sending
it by post to the person’s proper address.
(2) For the purposes of
this Article and of Article 7 of the Interpretation (Jersey) Law 1954 in its application to this Article,
the proper address of any person shall be the usual or last known place of
abode of the person or, if that person has furnished an address for service in
accordance with arrangements agreed to for that purpose, his or her proper
address shall be the address furnished.
(3) If the name or the
address of any owner, lessee or occupier of premises to or on whom any notice,
return, ballot paper or other document is to be sent or served, cannot after
reasonable enquiry be ascertained, it may be sent or served by addressing it to
that person (by the description of “owner”, “lessee” or
“occupier” of the premises), specifying the premises and delivering
it to some responsible person resident or appearing to be resident on the
premises or, if there is no person to whom it can be delivered, by affixing it,
or a copy of it, to some conspicuous part of the premises.
(4) A document may be sent
to the electoral administrator for a parish under this Law by delivering it to,
leaving it at, or sending it by post to, the relevant parish hall.[167]
70 Misnomer
or inaccurate description
No inaccurate description, or misnomer, of any person or place in a
register, notice or return shall prejudice the operation of this Law with
respect to that person or place in any case where the description of the person
or place is such as to be commonly understood.
71 Civil
liability of officers
(1) A person to whom this Article
applies shall not be liable in damages for anything done or omitted in the
discharge or purported discharge of any functions under this Law or under any
enactment made, or purportedly made, under this Law unless it is shown that the
act or omission was in bad faith.
(2) This Article applies to
the Judicial Greffier and to an electoral administrator for a parish, Autorisé or Adjoint,
a person presiding at a nomination meeting and any person who is, or is acting
as, an officer, employee or agent of a parish or performing any duty or
exercising any power on behalf of a parish.[168]
72 Regulations
(1) The States may, by Regulations,
make provision for the purpose of carrying this Law into effect and, in
particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, for
prescribing any matter that may be prescribed by Regulations under this Law.
(1A) The States may, by Regulations,
amend this Law –
(a) to
enable a person to apply, in electronic form, for inclusion on an electoral
register or for his or her name to be omitted from an electoral register;
(b) to
provide that such an application may be authenticated otherwise than by being
signed by the applicant.[169]
(1B) The States may, by Regulations,
amend this Law and the Referendum (Jersey) Law 2002, or such Law as from
time to time replaces it –
(a) to
enable a person to vote in electronic form and to provide for authentication of
that person’s right to vote; and
(b) without
prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2)(b), to make all supplementary
provision as is necessary to facilitate such voting, including provision
regarding the conduct of a poll or referendum, the conduct of any count in a
poll or referendum, and the steps to be taken after a result in a poll or
referendum has been obtained.[170]
(1C) In paragraphs (1A) and (1B) a
reference to doing something in electronic form is a reference to doing it by
any electronic means, whether using the internet, any other form of remote
communication or any other digital technology from time to time developed.[171]
(2) Regulations made under
this Law may –
(a) make
different provision in relation to different cases or circumstances; and
(b) contain
such transitional, consequential, incidental or supplementary provisions as
appear to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the Regulations.
73 Savings
and transitional provisions
(1) The States may by Regulations
make provisions of a savings or transitional nature consequent on the enactment
of this Law.
(2) Any such provision may,
if the Regulations so provide, take effect from the day on which this Law comes
into force or a later day.
(3) To the extent to which
any such provision takes effect from a date that is earlier than the date of
its promulgation, the provision does not operate so as –
(a) to
affect, in a manner prejudicial to any person (other than the States or an
authority of the States), the rights of that person existing before the date of
its promulgation; or
(b) to
impose liabilities on any person (other than the States or an authority of the
States) in respect of anything done or omitted to be done before the date of
its promulgation.
74 Citation and commencement
(1) This Law may be cited
as the Public Elections (Jersey) Law 2002.
(2) This Law shall come
into force on such day as the States may by Act appoint and different days may
be appointed for different purposes or different provisions of this Law.