Legislation covering Elections and the Electoral Register
There are a large number of Acts and Regulations covering the running of elections in Northern Ireland.
The law governing the conduct of elections is complex and is contained in numerous instruments of primary and secondary legislation including:
| Law | Summary |
|---|---|
| Representation of the People Act 1983 |
The Representation of the People Act 1983 is an Act of the UK Parliament that oversees the UK electoral processes. The Act regulates how political parties and people acting on their behalf are to behave before and during an election. The Act also sets out how polling stations should be set up and how nominations for candidates at elections should be managed. |
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The Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008 |
The primary set of detailed regulations that oversee the electoral process in Northern Ireland is the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008. These set out how voters should be registered, the procedures for postal and proxy votes, the publication of the Electoral Register and related fees. |
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The latest legislative reform to UK electoral law was the Elections Act 2022. The primary focus here was to bring Great Britain into line with Northern Ireland by the requirement to have photographic ID to vote at a Polling Station. This law has been in Northern Ireland since 2002. For further information on the Elections Act 2022 refer to the Elections Act Factsheet. |