The European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2004

[F1Equipment of polling stationsN.I.

30.—(1) The returning officer must provide each presiding officer with such number of ballot boxes and ballot papers as in the returning officer’s opinion may be necessary.

(2) Every ballot box must be so constructed that the ballot papers can be put in it, but cannot be withdrawn from it, without the box being unlocked or, where the box has no lock, the seal being broken.

(3) The returning officer must provide each polling station with—

(a)materials to enable voters to mark the ballot papers;

(b)copies of the register of electors or such part of it as contains the names of the electors allotted to the station;

(c)the parts of any special lists prepared for the election corresponding to the register of electors or such part of it as provided under sub-paragraph (b);

(d)Form C prepared under rule 20(3) which contains the numbers (but not the other unique identifying marks) corresponding to those on the ballot papers provided to the presiding officer of the polling station.

(4) The reference in paragraph (3)(b) to the copies of the registers of electors includes a reference to copies of any notices issued under section 13BA(9) of the 1983 Act in respect of alterations to the register.

(5) The returning officer must also provide each polling station with—

(a)at least one large version of the ballot paper which must be displayed inside the polling station for the assistance of voters who are partially sighted; and

(b)a device of such description as is set out in paragraph (9) for enabling voters who are blind or partially sighted to vote without any need for assistance from the presiding officer or any companion (within the meaning of rule 41).

(6) A notice in Form H in the Appendix of Forms, giving directions for the guidance of voters in voting, must be printed in conspicuous characters and exhibited inside and outside every polling station.

(7) In every compartment of every polling station there must be exhibited the notice—

• “Remember—use 1,2,3 etc. at this election—this is an election by proportional representation. Number the candidates in order of your preference putting “1” against the candidate of your first preference and so on. You should not put the same preference against more than one candidate. You may show your preference for as many or as few candidates as you wish”.

(8) Where proof has been given to the returning officer’s satisfaction of the death of a candidate, he must provide each presiding officer with sufficient number of notices to this effect for display in every compartment of every polling station.

(9) The device referred to in paragraph (5)(b) must—

(a)allow a ballot paper to be inserted into and removed from or attached to and detached from the device, easily and without damage to the paper;

(b)keep the ballot paper firmly in place during use;

(c)provide suitable means for the voter to identify—

(i)the spaces on the ballot paper on which he may mark his vote; and

(ii)the candidate to whom each such space refers.]