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The appointment of a Returning Officer by local authorities is prescribed in Section 35 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. Each District Council must appoint an officer of the Council to be the Returning Officer for the election of district councillors. Returning Officers’ duties are separate from and additional to their duties as local government officers and they are personally liable for the proper conduct of each aspect of the election, including the process for nominating candidates, the provision of polling stations and ballot papers and responsibility for counting the votes and declaring the result. The Returning Officer for the District Council also acts in that capacity for Parish and Town Council elections within the District.
Non-metropolitan county councils appoint their own Returning Officers for the election of county councillors although, in practice, because of the size of the areas concerned, such elections are usually administered by the District Council Returning Officers who, for the purposes of County Council elections are appointed as Deputies with full powers to conduct the election on the County Returning Officer’s behalf.
At English parliamentary elections, the Returning Officer for a county constituency (that is, one which is fully contained within a county but not wholly within one district council’s area) is the sherriff of the county. In a borough constituency (which is wholly contained within a District or London Borough Council area) the chairman or mayor of the Council is the Returning Officer. In practice, however, the election is conducted by Acting Returning Officers, who are usually the Returning Officers appointed for District Council elections.
At European Parliamentary Elections, each Region of the United Kingdom elects MEPs on a proportional representation basis from candidates included on party lists. The overall conduct of the election in each Region is the responsibility of the Regional Returning Officer who is appointed by the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice. Local Returning Officers undertake the conduct of the election in their respective district council areas on behalf of the Regional Returning Officer.
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