REFERENDUM ACT 1994
Retention and disposal of documents.
38.—(1) On the completion of the counting of the votes in a constituency, the local returning officer for the constituency shall place in separate sealed packets—
(a) the counted ballot papers,
(b) the ballot papers not counted because of invalidity under section 34,
(c) the unused and spoilt ballot papers, and
(d) the counterfoils of ballot papers issued at polling stations,
and shall mark on each packet particulars of its contents, the referendum to which they relate, the date of the polling day at the referendum concerned and the constituency to which they relate.
(2) The local returning officer shall also place in separate sealed packets—
(a) the marked copies of the register of electors used at polling stations,
(b) the ballot paper accounts and the statement referred to in section 114 of the Act of 1992 (as applied by section 33), and
(c) any authorisations issued by the local returning officer to electors pursuant to section 31,
and shall mark on each packet particulars of its contents, the referendum to which they relate, the date of the polling day at the referendum concerned and the constituency to which they relate.
(3) The local returning officer shall as soon as practicable, forward to the referendum returning officer the packets referred to in this section together with the packets and statement referred to in sections 76 and 83 (2) (other than paragraph (e) of that subsection) of the Act of 1992 (as applied by sections 28 and 29).
(4) The documents sent to the referendum returning officer in pursuance of this section shall be retained by that officer for 6 months from the date on which the provisional referendum certificate in respect of such referendum has become final. At the expiration of the said period, the referendum returning officer shall, unless otherwise directed by an order of the High Court or the referendum returning officer has reason to believe that the documents may be required for a purpose referred to in section 39 (3), cause the documents to be destroyed.
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C23
Prospective affecting provision: subss. (1), (2) applied with modifications by Electoral (Amendment) Act 2004 (15/2004), ss. 6(b), 7 and sch. 3 para. (l), not commenced as of date of revision.
Application of certain provisions of relevant enactments
6.—The provisions of— ...
(b) Parts I, II and IV of the Act of 1994,
...
shall, subject to the modifications specified in Schedule 1, 2, 3 or 4 to this Act, apply and have effect in relation to voting and vote counting under this Part at a relevant election or, as the case may be, a referendum.
Modification of relevant enactments in their application for purposes of Act
7.—Schedules 1 to 4 to this Act have effect for the purpose of modifying certain enactments in so far as those enactments apply for the purposes of this Act.
SCHEDULE 3
Modification of Certain Provisions of Act of 1994
For the purpose of the application by virtue of this Act to voting and the counting of votes at a referendum of certain provisions of the Act of 1994, the said provisions as so applied shall have effect as if— ...
(l) in section 38 of that Act—
(i) in subsection (1) there were deleted all the words from “sealed packets” down to and including “polling stations,” and there were substituted “sealed packets the cartridges or discs from voting machines and the statements referred to in sections 9(1), 11(2) and 12(5) and (6) of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2004”; and
(ii) for “section 114 of the Act of 1992 (as applied by section 33)” in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) there were substituted “section 13 of the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2004”;
...