Cap. 363 Art. 48AMixed polling places at residential homes and hospitals.

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in these regulations, the Commission shall provide mixed polling places for the purposes and in the manner provided for by this regulation.

(2) A mixed polling place is a polling place which contains one or more mixed ballot boxes for different localities, as the case may be, and where the voters mentioned in sub-regulation (4)(a), (b) and (c) shall vote independently of the locality where they may be registered in the last published Local Councils’ Electoral Register by casting their vote in the mixed ballot box appertaining to the locality where they are registered.

(3) The Commission shall only provide mixed polling places in the following sites:

(a) at Saint Vincent de Paule;

(aa) at a place in Malta for voters registered in Malta and at a place in Gozo for voters registered in Gozo that the Commission establishes in the Gazette according to regulation 16;

(b) at Mater Dei Hospital Msida, Karen Grech Hospital Gwardamanġa, Mount Carmel Hospital Attard, and Gozo General Hospital;

(c) at such places designated for the casting of votes by voters who are resident at retirement homes as defined in regulation 48 on the Saturday prior to polling day, as the Commission may, by notice in the Gazette published within ten days from the publication of the writ for the election, establish: Provided that the Commission shall, wherever possible, designate as such mixed polling places the retirement homes themselves: Provided further that for the purposes of this paragraph every person who is resident in a retirement home fourteen days before polling day shall be deemed to be a resident at the retirement home: Provided further that regulation 51 shall mutatis apply to mixed polling places designated in mutandis terms of this paragraph.

(d) all the voters residing at the Corradino Correctional Facility shall vote in the place indicated in this regulation and it shall be the duty of the person responsible of the mentioned Facility to submit to the Commission a list with the name, surname, identity card number and the date of birth of such voters within three days of the publication of the Notice for the election, which list must continue to be updated everyday up to fourteen days prior to the polling day. Every person residing at the Corradino Correctional Facility listed in the list shall be deemed to be a person residing at the same Facility.

(4) (a) All voters who fourteen days before polling day shall be resident, but not registered as voters, at Saint Vincent de Paule shall vote at the place indicated in sub-regulation (3)(a), and it shall be the duty of the sub-committee set up under regulation 49 to determine who these voters shall be.

(b) All voters who four days before polling day shall be registered as patients at Mater Dei Hospital, Karen Grech Hospital, Mount Carmel Hospital, and at the Gozo General Hospital, shall vote in the place indicated in sub-regulation (3)(b) and it shall be the duty of the sub-committee set up under regulation 49 to determine who these voters shall be.

(c) All the voters, as provided in sub-regulation (3)(c), who are resident at retirement homes as defined in regulation 48 shall vote at the place indicated in the same regulation and the subcommittee established under regulation 49 shall be bound to determine who the voters shall be.

(d) Notwithstanding the other provisions of these regulations:

(i) voters who vote in a hospital in accordance with sub-regulation (3)(b) shall vote on the Thursday prior to polling day between 7.00 am and 10.00 pm;

(ii) voters -

(aa) who are residing at Saint Vincent de Paule; or

(bb) who are residing in retirement homes as defined in regulation 48 and who are entitled to vote at such places designated in accordance with sub-regulation (3)(c),

(cc) who are residing in the Corradino Correctional Facility, shall vote on the Saturday prior to polling day between 7.00 am and 10.00 pm.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of these regulations, every person who shall have been selected to serve as an Assistant Electoral Commissioner, including those selected to serve as reserves, shall cast their vote at the place in Malta, if he is a registered voter in Malta, and at the place in Gozo if he is a registered voter in Gozo, as indicated in sub-regulation (3)(aa), and shall do so on Tuesday prior to the polling day between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m: Provided that the Assistant Commissioners and the reserves chosen to serve in Malta and in Gozo on the day allocated for the Assistant Commissioners to vote, shall cast their vote on the first polling day at the place established in regulation 48A(3)(aa) between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m.

(f) For all effects and purposes of this regulation, the persons who shall vote in accordance with paragraph

(e) shall be all those whose name is published in the list referred to in regulation 29(6), even if any one of such persons shall have resigned his appointment after the publication of that list.

(5) For all effects and purposes of these regulations a mixed polling place shall be considered as an ordinary polling place and the rights and duties imposed on the Commission and persons appointed by it, political parties, agents and candidates shall apply. mutatis mutandis

(6) In the case of those voters voting at the place indicated in sub-regulation (3)(a) and (c), a copy of the list of persons entitled to vote in such mixed polling place shall be given by the Electoral Commission to the political parties, at least four days prior to polling day. The list of the persons entitled to vote at the place indicated in sub-regulation (3)(b) shall be given by the Electoral Commission to the political parties by not later than midnight of the Thursday preceding the polling date.

(7) A medical consultant having in his care any voter resident at a hospital or retirement home may, by issuing a medical certificate to that effect, draw the attention of the Commission to any dangers inherent to the health of his patient should he be moved for the purposes of being taken to vote. Such certificate will, however, in no way effect the right of that voter, to ignore the medical warning and decide to cast his vote.