S.C.B.
Amendment Paper as at
Thursday 17th November 2005
STANDING COMMITTEE B
ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION BILL
(Except Clauses Nos. 9 to 18; any new Clauses or new Schedules relating to Part 2 or Part 3 of the Bill; any new Clauses or new Schedules relating to the procedure to be followed at an election on the death of a candidate; and any new Clauses or new Schedules relating to candidates standing in more than one constituency at an election.)
NOTE
The Amendments have been arranged in accordance with the Order of the Committee [15th November 2005].
Mr David Heath
Dr John Pugh
7
Clause 29, page 30, line 38, at end insert—
'(2A) For the purposes of subsection (1), any expenses incurred by a registered political party in respect of communicating with an individual elector in that election, irrespective of whether that communiction makes reference to the candidate of that party by name, shall be treated as an election expense.'.
Mr David Heath
Dr John Pugh
8
Clause 29, page 31, line 4, leave out subsections (5) and (6).
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
52
Clause 29, page 31, line 5, leave out 'of four months ending with' and insert 'from the Notice of the Election until'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
53
Clause 29, page 31, line 9, leave out 'of four months ending with' and insert 'from the Notice of the Election until'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
54
Clause 29, page 31, line 13, leave out 'starting with the day when the vacancy occurs and ending with' and insert 'from the Notice of the Election until'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
55
Clause 29, page 31, line 15, leave out subsection (6).
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
56
Clause 29, page 32, line 33, after 'costs', insert '(as defined in any code of practice produced by the Electoral Commission pursuant to paragraph 14 below)'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
57
Clause 29, page 33, line 24, at end insert—
'(14) The postage of any items relating to fundraising.'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
58
Page 40, line 11, leave out Clause 32.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
59
Clause 32, page 40, line 17, at end insert ', following consultation with and agreement from all registered political parties (as defined in Schedule 1 (6A) of the Representation of the People Act 1983)'.
Mr Andrew Turner
30
Clause 32, page 40, line 25, at end insert—
'(5) The Secretary of State shall by order prescribe a minimum size or sizes of typeface to be used on ballot papers.'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
60
Clause 32, page 40, line 25, at end insert—
| '(d) | No regulations are to be made under the provisions of this clause unless a draft of the regulation has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House.'. |
Mr David Heath
Dr John Pugh
9
Clause 36, page 44, line 38, at end insert—
'"(1ZF) If a person applies for a ballot paper and it seems to the presiding officer or a clerk that he is entitled to a tendered ballot paper under this rule, the presiding officer or clerk shall inform him of the circumstances under which he can cast a tendered ballot paper.".'.
Mr Clive Betts
68
*Clause 37, page 45, line 31, at end insert—'In Section 115 of the 1983 Act (offence of undue influence), after subsection (2) (b) insert—
| "(c) | if he makes a presumption of lack of capacity to vote merely by reference to— |
| (i) | a person's age or appearance, or |
| (ii) | a condition of his, or an aspect of his behaviour, which might lead others to make unjustified assumptions about his capacity.".'. |
Mr David Heath
Dr John Pugh
10
Clause 39, page 47, line 16, after third 'the', insert 'marked'.
Mr David Heath
Dr John Pugh
11
Clause 40, page 4, line 39, after second 'the', insert 'marked'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
61
Clause 43, page 52, line 42, at end insert—
| '( ) | a person registers for a postal vote before or during the election; or'. |
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
62
Clause 43, page 52, line 45, at end insert—
'(2) The list must be marked to show clearly and separately:
| (a) | electors registered for postal votes before and during the election; and |
| (b) | electors who have voted by post during the election period.'. |
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
63
Clause 43, page 52, line 45, at end insert—
'(2) The returning officer must make the list described in subsection (1) above available in electronic form.'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
64
Clause 47, page 54, line 28, leave out 'up to five'.
Mr Clive Betts
31
Clause 61, page 63, line 24, at end add—
'(4A) The standards for registration officers determined by the Commission shall include a requirement to notify all registered electors of their status as soon as the final register has been compiled.'.
Mr Clive Betts
32
Clause 61, page 64, line 5, leave out 'may from time to time' and insert 'must'.
Mr Clive Betts
33
Clause 61, page 64, line 6, leave out 'such reports' and insert 'an annual report'.
Mr Clive Betts
34
Clause 61, page 65, line 15, at end add—
'9D Duty to maximise voter registration
"It shall be a duty of the Commission to take all necessary steps to maximise voter registration.".'
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
65
Clause 63, page 66, line 3, at beginning insert 'Following receipt of written notification by the Electoral Commission of the intended steps to be taken,'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
66
Clause 63, page 66, line 3, leave out 'he thinks appropriate' and insert 'are reasonable'.
Ms Diana R. Johnson
28
Schedule 1, page 82, line 9, leave out '18' and insert '16'.
Ms Diana R. Johnson
29
Schedule 1, page 82, line 21, leave out '18' and insert '16'.
Mr Jonathan Djanogly
Mr Henry Bellingham
Mrs Eleanor Laing
67
Schedule 1, page 83, line 7, leave out paragraph (b).
Ms Diana R. Johnson
27
Schedule 1, page 95, line 4, at end insert—
| '113 | (1) | The Representation of the People Act 1985 is amended as follows— |
| (2) | In section 1(5) (extension of the parlimentary franchise), for "18" substitute "16", |
| (3) | In section 3(8)(a) (extension of the franchise for European Parliamentary elections), for "18" substitute "16".'. |
Mr David Heath
Dr John Pugh
1
Clause 69, page 68, line 22, at end insert—
'( ) section 13;
( ) section 14;'.
Mr David Heath
Dr John Pugh
2
Clause 69, page 68, line 37, leave out subsection (5).
Mr David Heath
Dr John Pugh
12
Clause 70, page 69, line 6, leave out paragraph (b).
NEW CLAUSES
Content of election address
Mr David Heath
Dr John Pugh
NC1
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) Section 91 of the 1983 Act (parliamentary election rules) is amended as follows.
(2) After subsection 1(b) insert—
