Where a candidate who has been nominated and has not withdrawn his nomination dies before the close of nominations, his nomination shall be treated in all respects as if it had not been made, and his deposit shall be returned to his personal representatives or, as the case may be, to the person who paid it.

Where in any such case the candidate dies on nomination day or on the day before nomination day, the time for the close of nominations in the district or, as the case may be, in the subdivision for electoral purposes, shall be deemed to be postponed by two days.”

If any candidate for the office of Mayor of a borough dies after the close of nominations and before the close of the poll, or if the successful candidate dies after the close of the poll and before the declaration of the result of the poll, the provisions of this section shall apply.

The election shall be deemed to have failed.

Where the candidate dies before polling day, the Returning Officer shall, upon being satisfied of the fact of the death, countermand the notice of the poll.

Where the candidate dies on polling day before the close of the poll the Returning Officer shall, upon being satisfied of the fact of the death, immediately close the poll and by public notice declare it to be null and of no effect.

Where the candidate dies after the close of the poll and before the declaration of the result of the poll, and it is found on the completion of the count of votes or on a recount that the candidate, if still living, would have been elected, the Returning Officer shall, upon being satisfied of the fact of the death, by public notice declare the election to be void.

The provisions of this Act as to an equality of votes between candidates shall apply, notwithstanding the death of one of those candidates after the close of the poll.

Where the poll is interrupted in consequence of the death of a candidate, all voting papers placed in the several ballot boxes shall be taken out by the several Deputy Returning Officers and, being made up into secured packages, shall be sent unopened to the Returning Officer, who shall forthwith destroy them in the presence of a Magistrate or a Justice of the Peace.

Where under the provisions of this section any election is deemed to have failed, a new election shall be held as if an extraordinary vacancy had occurred on the date on which the notice of the poll was countermanded or, as the case may be, on the date of the publication of the public notice declaring the poll to be null or the election to be void, and, except as otherwise provided, all proceedings in connection with the new election shall be had and taken anew.

The roll which was to be used at the election which has failed shall be used at the new election without any amendment or addition.

It shall not be necessary to nominate afresh any candidate who at the time of the countermand or close of the poll was a duly nominated candidate:

Any elector who is wholly or partially blind, or is unable to read or write (whether because of physical handicap or otherwise), or is not sufficiently familiar with the English language to vote without assistance, may vote in accordance with the provisions of this section.

At the request of any such voter who has received a voting paper, the Deputy Returning Officer shall accompany him into one of the inner compartments provided for the marking of voting papers, and the voting paper may there be marked by the voter with the assistance of the Deputy Returning Officer or may be marked by the Deputy Returning Officer in accordance with the instructions of the voter.

The person assisting the voter shall sign his name on the back of the voting paper and shall add the words ‘Witness for blind or partially blind person’ or ‘Witness for person unable to read or write’ or ‘Witness for person not familiar with the English language’, as the case may be, and shall fold the voting paper so that its face cannot be seen before depositing it in the ballot box.

A poll clerk or some other person nominated by the voter shall also accompany him into the inner compartment and may, if so desired by the voter, inspect the voting paper before it is deposited in the ballot box.

Any elector voting as a special voter may vote in the manner prescribed by this section, with any necessary modifications, or in any manner prescribed by regulations made under this Act.

Every person who is present in accordance with this section or with any regulations when an elector votes and who communicates at any time to any person any information obtained as to the candidate for whom the voter is about to vote or has voted, or as to the number on the voting paper given to the voter, commits an offence, and is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.”

Any elector may vote at any election as a special voter, if—

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, a special voter may vote at such place (whether at a polling place or not), at such time, in such manner, and upon or subject to such conditions as may be prescribed in that behalf by regulations made under this Act.

The voting papers for use by special voters may be in such form as is prescribed by regulations, and the consecutive numbers of the special voting papers may be in a different series from that used for the ordinary voting papers.

Subject to the provisions of this section and of section thirty-four of this Act, and to the provisions of any regulations made for the purposes of this section, all the provisions of this Act shall, as far as applicable and with the necessary modifications, apply with respect to voting by special voters and to their votes.”

Notwithstanding anything in this Act or in any other Act, where an election is required to be held in a combined district which comprises the whole or parts of several constituent districts, the Returning Officer for the combined district may, at any time after the close of nominations, appoint the Returning Officer for any constituent district to conduct the election in that constituent district, and thereupon the provisions of this Act shall apply as if the election was to be held in the constituent district only:

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds who at an election—

It shall not be an offence against this section for any person—

Nothing in this section shall apply to any official statement or announcement made or exhibited under the authority of this Act.”

Every person commits the offence of treating who corruptly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, either before, during, or after an election, directly or indirectly gives or provides, or pays wholly or in part the expense of giving or providing, any food, drink, entertainment, or provision to or for any person—

Every person commits the offence of treating who, being the holder of a licence for the sale by retail of intoxicating liquor, knowingly supplies any food, drink, entertainment, or provision—

Every elector who corruptly accepts or takes any such food, drink, entertainment, or provision also commits the offence of treating.”

Where an election or poll is declared void, a fresh election or poll shall, on a day to be fixed by the Returning Officer, being not later than thirty-five days after the date of that declaration, be held or taken under the same provisions, as far as practicable, as those applicable to the void election or poll: