Representation of the People Act 2000

Representation of the People Act 2000 ^[a]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make new provision with respect to the registration of voters for the purposes of parliamentary and local government elections; to make other provision in relation to voting at such elections; and for connected purposes.
Citation	2000 c. 2
Introduced by	Jack Straw, Secretary of State for the Home Department (Commons)
Territorial extent	United Kingdom [b]
Dates
Royal assent	9 March 2000
Commencement	Various [c]
Other legislation Amends Representation of the People Act 1983 Representation of the People Act 1985 Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 Representation of the People Act 1989 Repeals/revokes Representation of the People Act 1990 Amended by Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 Civil Partnership Act 2004 Electoral Administration Act 2006 Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act 2015 Policing and Crime Act 2017 Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Act 2020 Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 Elections Act 2022 Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024 Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Act 2025
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Representation of the People Act 2000 (c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning electoral procedure. ^[1]

Provisions

The act changed the British electoral process in four minor amendments to the Representation of the People Act 1983: ^[2]

• It removed most restrictions on postal voting and proxy voting.
• It allows psychiatric hospitals to be used as a registration address.
• It requires additional assistance for disabled voters, particularly visually impaired voters.
• It made provision for new regulations governing the access, sale and supply of electoral registers.

The act also enabled the piloting of electronic voting and electronic counting of ballots. ^[3]

The act enabled "mailshots" to be sent to every registered voter in the form of a free booklet containing election addresses from all the candidates in the London mayoral elections. ^{[4] [5]}

See also

• Reform Acts
• Representation of the People Act

Notes

1. Section 17(1).
2. Section 17(6)–(9).
3. Section 17(3). The Representation of the People Act 2000 (Commencement) Order 2001.

References

1. "Ministers give way over mayor poll". BBC News. 23 February 2000. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
2. "REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE BILL RECEIVES ROYAL ASSENT". Local Government Chronicle. 10 March 2000. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
3. Wilks-Heeg, Stuart (2008). "Purity of Elections in the UK: Causes for Concern" (PDF). Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
4. "Ministers unveil London mailshot deal". BBC News. 2 March 2000. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
5. "Mayor mailshot due to go ahead". BBC News. 29 February 2000. Retrieved 11 August 2026.

External links

• The Representation of the People Act 2000, as currently amended
• The Representation of the People Act 2000, as originally enacted from the Office of Public Sector Information.
• Explanatory notes to the Representation of the People Act 2000 from the Office of Public Sector Information.