Ban on political campaigners handling postal votes
Political campaigners will be banned from handling postal votes, except:
- where the postal vote is their own, or
- that of a close family member (two people living together as if they were a married couple, or civil partners are treated as if they were spouses or civil partners of each other), or
- someone they provide regular care for
- the ban does not apply if they would handle postal votes in the course of their usual duties (for example, if they work for Royal Mail)
A political campaigner is defined in legislation as:
- a candidate at the election
- an election agent of a candidate at the election
- a sub-agent of an election agent at the election
- employed or engaged 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 – this includes displaying posters, distributing leaflets, posting promotional material on social media accounts and canvassing
- employed or engaged by a registered political party in connection with the party's political activities
- employed or engaged by a person within 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
If found guilty of handling postal votes as a campaigner, a person could face a fine and/or imprisonment up to 2 years.
The ban does not apply to handling postal vote applications, however political campaigners should follow the guidance issued by the Electoral Commission for application forms.