Electoral (Amendment) Act, 1996
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Extension of postal voting to disabled persons. |
4.—(1) The Electoral Act, 1992 is hereby amended by— | |
(a) the insertion after “qualifying date” in paragraph (c) of section 14 of “, or” and the following paragraph: | ||
“(d) a person who is ordinarily resident at his residence, applies to be so entered and satisfies the registration authority that— | ||
(i) such person is unable to go in person to vote at the polling place for his polling district by reason of his physical illness or physical disability, and | ||
(ii) the physical illness or physical disability is likely to continue for the period of continuance in force of the register of electors in respect of which the application to be entered as a postal voter is made.”, | ||
(b) the insertion of the following section after section 14: | ||
“Supplemental provisions to section 14. | ||
14A.—(1) Part III of the Second Schedule shall apply to an application to be registered as a postal voter pursuant to section 14 (d) as if references in that Part to ‘special voters list’ were references to ‘postal voters list’ and references to ‘section 17’ and ‘section 17 (2)’ were references to ‘section 14 (d)’. | ||
(2) An application from a person for entry in the postal voters list under section 14 (d) who, on the date of such person's application, is entered in the special voters list then in force shall be deemed not to be a first application for entry in the postal voters list for the purposes of Rule 19 (c) of the Second Schedule, as applied by subsection (1), to an application for entry in the postal voters list under the said section 14 (d).”, | ||
(c) the insertion of “and a statement of the offences and penalties relating to postal voting contained in Part XXII” after “to the voter” in subsection (2) of section 66, | ||
(d) the deletion of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 17 and the substitution of the following: | ||
“(a) such elector is ordinarily resident in a hospital or in a home or similar institution for persons with a physical illness or physical disability and is unable to go in person to vote at the polling place for such elector's polling district by reason of physical illness or physical disability; and”, | ||
(e) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4) of section 17: | ||
“(5) An application from a person for entry in the special voters list under this section who, on the date of application, is entered in the postal voters list under section 14 (d) then in force shall be deemed not to be a first application for entry in the special voters list for the purposes of Rule 19 (c) of the Second Schedule.”, | ||
(f) the insertion of “postal voters list or the” after “entered in the” in subsection (2) (c) of section 133, | ||
(g) the insertion of “and the registration of postal voters pursuant to section 14 (d)” after “special voters” in paragraph 2 of the Table to paragraph (4) of Rule 1 of the Second Schedule, and | ||
(h) the insertion of “or registered as a postal voter pursuant to section 14 (d)” after “special voters list” in paragraph 4 of the Table to paragraph (4) of Rule 1 of the Second Schedule. | ||
(2) The Local Elections Regulations, 1995, are hereby amended by the insertion of “and a statement of the offences and penalties relating to postal voting contained in Part XV” after “to the voter” in Article 31(2). |