Part 1: Administration and Conduct of Elections Postal and Proxy Voting Section 7: Requirement of secrecy
This section amends the requirement to maintain the secrecy of voting set out in section 66 of the RPA 1983 in order to extend it to postal and proxy voting in a "relevant election".
	Subsection (2) inserts new subsections (3A) to (3F) into section 66 of the RPA 1983. New subsection (3A) and (3B) mirror existing secrecy provisions for voting in person and extend those to voting by post. Subsection (3A)(c) contains a restriction on obtaining or attempting to obtain information about which candidate the person has voted for. This restriction only applies when the person voting is about to mark, is marking or has just marked their postal ballot paper (subsection (3B)). Subsection (3A)(d) prohibits communicating information obtained in contravention of subsection (3B)(c) at any time to any other person.
	New subsection (3C) provides that an elector who has appointed a proxy to vote by post on their behalf does not contravene subsection (3A) by obtaining from their proxy information relevant for the vote to be cast (except the official mark on a ballot paper) and the proxy does not contravene subsection (3A) by communicating such information to the elector who appointed them.
	New subsections (3D) and (3E) ensure that where a person is attempting to obtain from a postal voter, or communicate, information about which candidate the person has voted for, for the purposes (or the main purposes) of an exit or opinion poll, this is not an offence.
	New subsection (3F) provides that a person voting as proxy for another elector at an election must not communicate at any time to any person, except the elector for whom they are voting as proxy, any information as to the candidate for whom that person is about to vote or has voted (as proxy), or, except for purposes authorised by law, the number or other unique identifying mark on the back of a ballot paper sent or delivered to that person.
	Subsection (3) inserts new subsections (4A) and (4B) into section 66 of the RPA 1983 to mirror the existing secrecy requirement under section 66(5). The existing subsection (5) only applies to a person (companion) assisting a blind voter by voting on their behalf, and the new subsections extend this to companions voting on behalf of voters who are blind, have other disabilities or are unable to read. Subsection (6) of the section amends the Parliamentary elections rules to reflect this extension of the secrecy requirement. Subsection (4) amends section 66(5) of the RPA 1983 so that the existing secrecy requirement continues to apply to local government elections in Scotland and Wales.
	Subsection (5) inserts a new subsection 66(6A) which defines the term "relevant election", to which the extended secrecy provisions apply. Those elections are UK Parliamentary elections and local government elections in England.
	The existing offence at section 66(6) of the RPA 1983 will apply to a person who acts in contravention of any of the secrecy requirements set out in section 66 of the RPA, including the new requirements. A person found guilty shall be liable on summary conviction to an unlimited fine in England and Wales, and a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale in Scotland and Northern Ireland, or to imprisonment for up to 6 months.