Ballot Secrecy Act 2023
Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 (c. 12) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom.
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Lord Hayward (Lords)
| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to make provision for ensuring the secrecy of ballots cast in polling stations at elections; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2023 c. 12 |
| Introduced by | Paul Bristow (Commons) Lord Hayward (Lords) |
| Territorial extent | [b] |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 2 May 2023 |
| Commencement |
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| Other legislation | |
| Amends |
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Status: Current legislation | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
| Text of the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
Passage
The Ballot Secrecy Bill was introduced in the House of Lords as a private member’s bill by Lord Hayward on 26 May 2022.[1] It completed its Lords stages on 30 November 2022. Paul Bristow sponsored the bill in the House of Commons and it was given a second reading on 9 December 2022 without substantive debate.[2]
The intention behind the bill was to prevent family voting.[1]
Provisions
The bill has one substantive clause, that amends section 60 of the Representation of the People Act 1983[1] to make it a criminal offence to be "near a polling booth when another person is at that booth" with the intention "to influence that other person to vote in a particular way or to refrain from voting".[3]
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