Overview of the Structure Part 3: Anti-Fraud Measures
17.This Part provides for the collection of personal identifiers from persons applying to vote by post or proxy. Personal identifiers are specified as signature and date of birth. Postal and proxy vote applicants will be required to provide their date of birth and signature on their application forms. This Part provides for the retention of identifiers by registration officers and sets out the purposes for which they may be used. The clause provides for registration officers to require existing postal and proxy voters to provide their signature and date of birth.
18.Under related provisions in Part 6 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Act, postal voters at elections will be required to provide their signature and date of birth on the postal voting statement that postal voters must complete and return with their postal ballot paper. All postal voters, including proxy postal voters, will be subject to this requirement. Under the provisions, a postal ballot paper will not be deemed to be valid if the postal voting statement does not include both a signature and date of birth. Further, returning officers will be required to take steps to be set out in secondary regulations for verifying the signature and date of birth on the postal voting statement. This will involve checking that the identifiers provided on the postal voting statement correspond with those previously provided on the postal vote application form.
19.This Part also creates an offence of providing false information for the purposes of registration or when applying for a postal or proxy vote.