Commentary on Sections Schedule 1 — Amendments Postal voting statement
436.Paragraph 72 amends the offence provision in section 65 of the 1983 Act (tampering with nomination papers, etc) to add a reference to the new form of “postal voting statement” which will be used in Great Britain in place of the current declaration of identity.
437.Paragraph 73 should be read in conjunction with provisions in sections 14 and 37 which taken together put in place arrangements that will significantly enhance the security of postal voting.
438.Paragraph 73 removes the requirement in rule 45(1B) of the parliamentary election rules for the postal voting statement to be witnessed.
439.Paragraph 73 also amends rule 45(1B) to specify that, in addition to the current requirements, postal ballot papers shall not be taken to be duly returned unless:
	the postal voting statement has been signed and states the date of birth of the elector or proxy (as the case may be),
	and, in a case where the returning officer is required to take such steps as may be prescribed for verifying the date of birth and signature of an elector, the returning officer has taken such steps to verify the date of birth and signature of the elector.
440.Where the returning officer decides that a ballot paper is not duly returned, it will be deemed to be invalid and will not go forward to the count.