In elections in the United Kingdom

Elections in the United Kingdom

There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: United Kingdom general elections, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, elections to the European Parliament, local elections and mayoral elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday...

, a polling agent is someone appointed by either the election agent

Election agent

In elections in the United Kingdom, as well as in certain other similar political systems such as India's, an election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent to by those running the election. In elections in...

 of a candidate standing for election, or where there is no election agent the candidate personally, to oversee polling at the election count.
The primary purpose of a polling agent is to assist in detection of personation.

The appointment of a polling agent is not legally required.
Polling agents are appointed after the period when nominations to the election are made. The election timetable states when counting agents have to be appointed, usually about a week before the polling day.

Only one polling agent per candidate may be admitted at any one time to a polling station, and they may not take information out of the polling station.

After the May 2005 Northern Ireland elections, the Electoral Commission

Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)

The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...

 concluded that some polling agents unlawfully acted as tellers

Teller (elections)

A teller is a person who counts the votes in an election, vote or poll. Tellers are also known as scrutineers, poll-watchers, challengers or checkers.-United Kingdom:...

, identifying those who had not yet voted, and passing information from inside the polling place to other party workers. This information is not normally available to parties unless voters give it voluntarily to tellers, outside the polling place.

External links

• Guide to the role – Walsall Council, England