Section 77 — Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992: Voting.

Voting. 77 1 The method of voting must be by the marking of a voting paper by the person voting.

2 Each voting paper must—

a state the name of the independent scrutineer and clearly specify the address to which, and the date by which, it is to be returned, and b be given one of a series of consecutive whole numbers every one of which is used in giving a different number in that series to each voting paper printed or otherwise produced for the purposes of the ballot, and c be marked with its number.

3 Every person who is entitled to vote in the ballot must—

a be allowed to vote without interference from, or constraint imposed by, the union or any of its members, officials or employees, and b so far as is reasonably practicable, be enabled to do so without incurring any direct cost to himself.

4 So far as is reasonably practicable, every person who is entitled to vote in the ballot must—

a have a voting paper sent to him by post at his home address or another address which he has requested the trade union in writing to treat as his postal address, and b be given a convenient opportunity to vote by post.

5 The ballot shall be conducted so as to secure that—

a so far as is reasonably practicable, those voting do so in secret, and b the votes given in the ballot are fairly and accurately counted. For the purposes of paragraph (b) an inaccuracy in counting shall be disregarded if it is accidental and on a scale which could not affect the result of the ballot.