Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001

Application of Part XIX of Principal Act.

45.—(1) Part XIX of the Principal Act, other than section 125, and subsections (2), (3) and (4) of section 118 shall apply to the counting of votes under this Part. Any reference in that Part XIX to a ballot paper or paper shall be construed as a reference to a vote cast on a voting machine or, in the case of a reference to postal or special voters ballot papers, a vote entered in a voting machine.

(2) Any reference to the functions referred to in sections 119 to 124 of the Principal Act, as applied to this Part, being performed by the returning officer shall, subject to subsection (6), be construed as a reference to the performance of those functions by electronic methods and, in particular, any reference in those sections to a parcel or sub-parcel of votes shall be construed as a reference to an analogous grouping together of votes by those methods and any reference in those sections to the physical treatment of, or a transfer being effected in respect of, such a parcel shall be construed as a reference to an analogous treatment of, or an analogous transfer being effected in respect of, such a parcel by those methods.

(3) Section 119(1) of the Principal Act, as so applied, shall have effect as if the reference in that section to section 114 were a reference to section 44 of this Act and the words “, rejecting any that are invalid,” were deleted.

(4) Section 127(2) of the Principal Act, as so applied, shall have effect as if the reference in that section to section 114(2) were a reference to section 44 (3) of this Act.

(5) Section 128 of the Principal Act, as so applied, shall have effect as if the reference in that section to the decision of the returning officer in respect of any matter referred to therein were a reference to the results provided by the constituency vote counting machine in respect of that matter.

(6) Where it is necessary to decide a matter by determining it by lot, the returning officer shall cause the result of that determination by lot to be entered on the constituency vote counting machine.