Part 1: Administration and Conduct of Elections Postal and Proxy Voting Section 4: Handling of postal voting documents by political campaigners
Section 4 amends the RPA 1983, introducing a new criminal offence banning political campaigners from handling postal voting documents issued to others.
	Subsections (1) and (2) insert the new handling offence as new section 112A of the RPA 1983.
	New section 112A(1) provides that those defined in section 112A(7) as "political campaigners" commit an offence if they handle postal voting documents in relation to UK Parliamentary and English local elections. For these purposes, "political campaigners" (as defined in subsection (7)) includes candidates, election agents and party workers.
	New section 112(A)(2) provides an exemption from the offence for specified persons who may handle postal votes in the normal course of their duties, such as a postal operator.
	New section 112A(3) creates two further exemptions to this offence where the handler is a listed family member or carer of the postal voter.
	New section 112A(4) provides that it is a defence for a person charged with the offence to show that they did not dishonestly handle the postal voting document for the purpose of promoting a particular outcome at an election.
	New section 112A(5) provides that where sufficient evidence has been introduced to raise the defence as an issue, the court must assume that the defence is satisfied unless the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that it is not.
	New section 112A(6) makes the offence a "corrupt practice", bringing the offence within the existing prosecution, sentencing and penalty regime for electoral offences in the RPA 1983. This offence carries a maximum penalty of up to two years in prison, a fine, or both; and prohibition from standing for electoral office and from voting for a period of 5 years. In line with other electoral offences, this subsection makes it clear that anyone who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of the offence in relation to handling postal voting documents is also guilty of a corrupt practice.
	New section 112A(7) sets out the persons who are deemed to be a political campaigner for the purpose of this section. A political campaigner is a person who is:
a candidate at the election;
an election agent of a candidate at the election;
a sub-agent of a person within paragraph (b);
employed or engaged by a person who is a candidate at the election for the purposes of that person’s activities as a candidate;
a member of a registered political party and carries on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election;
employed or engaged by a registered political party in connection with the party’s political activities;
employed or engaged by a person within any of paragraphs (a) to (f) to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election;
employed or engaged by a person within paragraph (g) to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election.
	New section 112A(8) defines some of the terms used in new section 112A, including "relevant election" to which the provisions apply, namely UK Parliamentary elections and local elections in England. New subsections (9)-(11) provide some further interpretation of the terms used.
	Subsection (3) applies the existing processes for the identification of a person guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice by an election court (set out in section 160 of the RPA 1983) to those convicted of the new offence.
	Similarly, subsection (4) applies the existing provisions for the prosecution of corrupt practices (set out in section 168 of the RPA 1983) to those convicted of the new offence. Under these provisions, on indictment, the person would be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both. On summary conviction, the person would be liable to imprisonment for a maximum of six months, or to a fine, or to both.
	Subsection (5) applies the existing provisions in relation to incapacities (set out in section 173 of the RPA 1983) to persons convicted of the offence.