Electoral (Amendment) Act 2006

Consideration of applications.

6.— (1) Where the registration authority is satisfied that a person making an application under section 2 (the “applicant”)—

(a) is an elector to whom section 2 applies,

(b) has duly completed the application form referred to in section 3 , and

(c) has furnished the certificate required under section 3 ,

the registration authority shall—

(i) rule that the application is granted and mark the application form accordingly, and

(ii) notify the applicant of that ruling.

(2) Where the registration authority is not satisfied, as respects the applicant’s application with regard to the matters referred to in subsection (1)(a), (b) and (c), the registration authority shall—

(a) rule that the application is refused and mark the application form accordingly, and

(b) notify the applicant of that ruling and of the reason therefor.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), whenever an application is received by the registration authority after the date specified in section 2 (1)(a), the application shall be disregarded and the applicant shall be notified accordingly.

(4) An applicant may apply to be entered in the postal voters list in force at the date of coming into operation of this Act and, in this regard, the Minister may by order appoint—

(a) a date to be the latest date for receiving applications under section 2 in lieu of the date specified in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of that section and section 3 (1)(c), and

(b) a period within which the notice referred to in section 5 (1) shall be given in lieu of the period specified therein,

and subsection (3) shall be construed accordingly.

(5) The Minister may include in an order under subsection (4) a provision providing that—

(a) applicants who are duly entered in the postal voters list referred to in that subsection (“the first-mentioned list”) following an application in that behalf made before the date appointed by that order shall be deemed also to be so entered in the postal voters list which comes into force immediately following the first-mentioned list ceasing to be in force, or

(b) applicants who have applied for entry in the first-mentioned list before the date appointed by that order and whose applications are granted under this section shall, in lieu of being entered in the first-mentioned list, be duly entered in the postal voters list which comes into force immediately following the first-mentioned list ceasing to be in force.

(6) Rules 16 and 17 of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1992 shall apply to an appeal against a ruling of a registration authority in respect of an application under section 2 (including that section as it has effect by virtue of subsection (4)) as they apply to an application for entry in the supplement to the register and, accordingly, the reference in the said Rule 16 to an application for entry in the supplement to the register shall, for the purposes of the application of that Rule by this subsection, be construed as a reference to an application for entry in the postal voters list under section 2 (including that section as it has effect by virtue of subsection (4)).