Supplementary provisions for authenticating postal voting papers during pre‑count examination
35.—(1) During the pre‑count examination of postal voting papers under section 56C of the Act, the Returning Officer may use the information contained in the QR code on an envelope to verify whether or not —
(a)
it is a return envelope issued under regulation 26 or 27; and
(b)
the signature on the envelope in the area demarcated for the purpose mentioned in regulation 28(1)(e) substantially matches the signature of a postal elector.
(2) If the Returning Officer is not satisfied that —
(a)
the return envelope is issued under regulation 26 or 27; or
(b)
the signature on the return envelope is substantially identical to the wet‑ink signature of a postal elector submitted to the Registration Officer under the Parliamentary Elections (Registration of Overseas Electors) Regulations 2023,
the Returning Officer —
(c)
must disallow the return envelope (and any postal ballot paper inside) from being counted; but