Following Royal Assent of the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004, we have made a Pilot Order, setting out the arrangements for the all-postal pilots to be held in June.
The Act will allow piloting of all-postal voting in four regions, the North East, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West, which between them include more than 14 million electors.
The order, which was announced to Parliament yesterday, has been developed in close consultation with the Electoral Commission, and other major stakeholders including Regional Returning Officers, suppliers and Royal Mail.
It sets out details of how the elections will be conducted, including the timetable, how and when ballot papers will be sent out, how they can be returned, how they will be handled, verified and counted and the deadline for their return. It amends any existing regulations governing the running of elections for the pilot areas.
Reports by Electoral Commisssion evaluating pilot schemes in 2004 and reporting on the future of postal voting - and Response by Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister [ 27 March 2004]
European Parliamentary and Local Elections (All Postal) Pilot Order 2004 [27 April 2004]
Ministerial Statement on the choice of pilot regions [21 January 2004]
Press notice [September 2003]
The Government's consultation paper on the implementation of the pilots
The Electoral Commission published its recommendations on where pilots should take place on 8 December 2003.
The Electoral Commission published its evaluation of the pilot order which sets out the arrangements in place for the all-post pilots on 22 April 2004.