ELECTORAL ACT (as amended at 24th January 2008) (a) forges or counterfeits or fraudulently destroys a ballot paper or the official mark on a ballot paper; or (a1) at a polling station, applies for a ballot paper, knowing that he or she is not entitled to vote in the ward or constituency concerned; or (b) without due authority supplies any ballot paper to any person; or (c) without due authority puts into a ballot box any paper or thing other than the ballot paper which he or she is authorised by this Act to put in the ballot box; or (d) without due authority takes out of the polling station a ballot paper; or (e) without due authority destroys, takes, opens or otherwise interferes with a ballot box or packet of ballot papers then in use for the purposes of the election; shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years. (2) In an indictment, summons or charge for an offence in relation to ballot boxes, ballot papers or official marking instruments at an election, the property in such papers, boxes or instruments, as well as the property in the counterfoils, may be stated to be vested in the constituency elections officer at such election or, if the constituency elections officer is indicted or charged, in the Chief Elections Officer. 86 Maintenance of secrecy and non-interference with voters and ballot papers (1) Every electoral officer, monitor, candidate and election or polling agent in attendance at a polling station shall maintain, and aid in maintaining, the secrecy of the voting at that station and shall not communicate, except for some purpose authorised by law, to any person any information likely to defeat the secrecy of the voting. (2) No person, except as provided in this Act, shall— (a) interfere with or attempt to interfere with a voter when marking his or her vote, or otherwise attempt to obtain in the polling station information as to the candidate for whom a voter in that station is about to vote or has voted; or (b) communicate at any time to any person any information obtained in a polling station as to the candidate for whom a voter in such station is about to vote or has voted or as to the number on the ballot paper given to a voter at such station. (3) No person shall, directly or indirectly, induce a voter to display his or her ballot paper after he or she has marked the same in such a manner as to make known to any person the name of the candidate for whom the voter has so marked his or her vote. (4) No person shall place upon a ballot paper any mark or writing whereby a person who gives his or her vote on that ballot paper may be identified. (5) Subject to sections fifty-nine and sixty and proviso (iii) to subsection (1) of section seventy-five, no person shall attempt to ascertain or, directly or indirectly, aid in ascertaining for which candidate a voter has given his or her vote. (6) Any person who contravenes any provision of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level six or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or to both such fine and such imprisonment. - 63 -