Roles and Responsibilities in an election

Summary of roles and responsibilities of agents, sub-agents, polling agents, counting agents, postal voting agents and tellers at a European Parliamentary election in Great Britain

National election agent – registered political party standing in more than one electoral region

The national election agent is the person responsible in law for the election campaign, except for the campaign’s financial management which is the responsibility of the party treasurer/registered campaigns officer, in every region in which the party is standing. National election agents are also entitled to observe various parts of the election process, including the conduct of the poll at the polling stations, postal vote opening sessions and the verification and counting of the votes.

Election agents – registered political party standing in one electoral region only
The election agent is the person responsible in law for the election campaign, except for the campaign’s financial management, which is the responsibility of the party treasurer/registered campaigns officer. Election agents are also entitled to observe various parts of the election process, including the conduct of the poll at the polling stations, postal vote opening sessions and the verification and counting of the votes.

Election agents – individual candidates
The election agent is the person responsible in law for the proper management of the election campaign, which includes the financial management of the campaign. Election agents are also entitled to observe various parts of the election process, including the conduct of the poll at the
polling stations, postal vote opening sessions and the verification and
counting of the votes.

Sub-agents
Sub-agents are, in effect, deputy election agents. Parties standing in more than one electoral region can appoint one sub-agent to act in any electoral region, and further sub-agents to act in any part of an electoral region, as long as the parts do not overlap. Parties standing in only one electoral region or individual candidates can also appoint sub-agents to act in any part of an electoral region, as long as the parts do not overlap.

Polling agents, counting agents, postal voting agents

Polling agents

The main duties and responsibilities of polling agents on polling day are
summarised below:

• To be present at their designated polling station before the opening of the poll to observe the Presiding Officer showing the empty ballot box prior to sealing.
• To detect impersonation and prevent people from voting more than once at the same election. Voters believed to have committed the offence of personation or who attempt to vote twice should be challenged before they leave the polling station. To do this effectively, the polling agent should require the Presiding Officer to put the statutory questions to the elector before they are issued with a ballot paper.
• To report to their election agent any improper occurrences and retain notes for use in giving evidence to a court, if required.
• To be present when the Presiding Officer marks ballot papers at the request of electors.
• To be present at the close of poll when the various packets of documents are sealed. At the close of poll only, the polling agent may attach their seal to any packets made up by the Presiding Officer, including the ballot box.
• To maintain the secrecy of the ballot. Polling agents must not give information to anyone as to who has or has not voted, or a person’s elector number, or the official mark. Although polling agents may mark off on their copy of the register of electors those voters who have applied for ballot papers, if they leave the polling station during the hours of polling, their marked copy of the register must be left in the polling station in order not to breach the secrecy requirements.

Counting agents

The main role of a counting agent is to observe the verification and counting process and to ensure that it is undertaken in an orderly, accurate and correct manner. The verification and counting processes may be held on different days. There is no separate appointment for verification agents, and counting agents are entitled to observe at the verification process as well as attend the counting of the votes. Counting agents are there to observe the proceedings and cannot participate directly in the administration of the verification or counting processes; e.g. counting agents must not handle the ballot papers.

Additional duties and responsibilities of counting agents include:

• to observe the verification of the number of ballot papers in each ballot box against the ballot paper account
• to challenge any ballot paper that appears doubtful so that it is adjudicated by the Local Returning Officer

One counting agent per party or individual candidate may also be authorised to ask for a recount of the votes at the time of the provisional result. Only one such counting agent per party or individual candidate, per local counting area, will have this additional power.

Postal voting agents

Postal voting agents can observe the opening of postal voting ballot boxes containing returned postal votes. They can observe the opening and verification of the returned postal ballot packs and can object to any postal
vote that is rejected due to the postal voting statement being rejected. While agents can observe the opening of postal votes, they are not entitled to attend the issue of postal votes.

Polling, counting and postal voting agents are required to maintain the secrecy of voting, and are subject to the important legal requirements relating to secrecy contained in Regulation 29 of the EPE Regulations.

Tellers

Tellers work for political parties. They stand outside polling stations or polling places and record the elector number of voters who have voted. By identifying electors who have not voted and relaying this information to the party, tellers play a vital and important role in elections. Parties may then contact the voters who have not yet been to vote during polling day and encourage them to vote.

There should be no more than one teller at a polling station for each individual candidate or political party at any time. Where a polling place contains more than one polling station with separate entrances, it may be appropriate for there to be tellers at each entrance, but no more than one per individual candidate or party.

Tellers have no legal status and voters have the right to refuse to give them any information.

Tellers must:

• always remain outside the polling station
• only enter the polling station to cast their own vote, to vote as a proxy or to accompany a disabled voter always comply with the instructions of the Local Returning Officer and Presiding Officer

Tellers must not:

• be able to see or hear what is happening inside the polling station
• impede, obstruct or intimidate voters on their way in or out of the polling station
• demand any information relating to a voter’s elector number, name or address
• ask voters to re-enter the polling station to ascertain their elector number
• have discussions with voters that may give rise to allegations of undue influence (e.g. voting intentions, party affiliations or party campaigns)
• display any campaign material in support of or against any particular political party or individual candidate other than a rosette

Tellers may:

• approach voters for information as they enter or leave the polling station
• display a coloured rosette displaying the name of the individual candidate or political party they are working for the rosette should not bear a slogan and must not be oversized

Source

Tellers, election agents, polling agents, counters