Thread by @JolyonMaugham

A Brexit Party leaflet was enclosed within the official envelope containing the bundle of materials sent to @thehistoryguy to enable him to exercise his postal ballot in the European Parliamentary Elections. THREAD

https://twitter.com/thehistoryguy/status/1130109047569637376

Before I go on, I need to say I am not a specialist election lawyer.

The law governing the conduct of European Parliamentary elections is contained in these regulations. legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/293/… /1

They make very detailed provision for the form of the ballot paper (see page 82 and Schedule 1 paragraph 22). /2

Provision for how postal ballot papers are to be prepared, posted, recorded, and what materials are to be sent with them, is made by Schedule 2. /3

In particular it makes provision for the form of the postal voting statement and the form of the envelope.

I can't find anything which explicitly says you are not allowed to include anything else in the bundle of materials sent to voters but... /4

... it is almost inconceivable to me that such will be permitted. As a general rule, where the law is prescriptive about what IS permitted it is read as implicitly excluding that which is not explicitly permitted. /5

The Regulations are also explicit about who is to entitled to be present when postal ballot papers are issued (sections 6A to 6E covers the Electoral Commission and accredited observers). /6

The local returning officer for @thehistoryguy will be someone at @newforestdc (you can see the materials they have published in connection with the European Elections here newforest.gov.uk/article/18917/…). /7

Obviously I don't know how the Brexit Party leaflet got into Dan's postal ballot papers but in light of what paragraph 43 of Schedule 2 to the Regulations says about who is entitled to be present when they are issued, the starting point looks to be @newforestdc. /8

(It's worth noting that the Regulations also make provision for who is able to deliver postal ballot papers.) /9

The regulations make provision for challenging, by petition, the outcome of European Parliamentary elections. They also make provision for the prosecution of those committing "corrupt" or "illegal" practices in connection with those elections. /10

What's likely to be especially important on any challenge or prosecution is how much evidence there is that postal voting envelopes were stuffed with Brexit Party leaflets. /11

So, if you are in New Forest or you have friends who live there, see what evidence you can gather of whether this practice was widespread or this was a one off. Reply to this tweet with details (and keep photographic evidence). /12

I need to repeat that I am not an election lawyer but this feels to me like a very serious thing indeed, if widespread in (Leave voting) New Forest.

/ENDS

Here, from an expert, an analysis of possible explanations.