(This note is not part of the Rules)
These Rules amend the Local Elections (Principal Areas) Rules 1986 to remove a possible ambiguity from the directions to voters as to the number of candidates for whom they may vote. The original direction was “Vote for … candidate(s) only”; (the blank space being filled according to the number of vacancies to be filled). The direction was intended to indicate the maximum number of candidates for whom a voter could vote. However, a voter could also construe the direction as indicating the minimum number of candidates for whom he could vote. The substituted direction for use where more than one vacancy is to be filled (“Vote for no more than … candidates”) removes this ambiguity.
Rule 2(3) amends the form of a candidate’s consent to nomination to make it clear that a candidate whose qualification rests on residence in the area of the local authority during the twelve months before the date of his nomination and the day of election must have been so resident during the whole of that period.