Code of Conduct

Introduction

This Code provides a guide for candidates and their supporters as to what is, and is not, considered acceptable behaviour at polling stations and in the community during the lead-up to polling day.

All candidates agree under section 14 of the Nomination form to comply with this Code of Conduct (the Code). Candidates should also familiarise themselves with both the Elections (Jersey) Law 2002 and the Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Law 2014. These are the laws that inform this Code of Conduct.

As a candidate, you will be one of the key public faces of the election, and your conduct will be scrutinised in detail by your opponents, the media and voters. Voters should be able to trust that you will comply with the law and maintain the integrity of the election process.

You are responsible for your campaign and are legally responsible for its financial management.

You should also make sure that your campaign supporters fully understand the law and know what they need to do to ensure that voters can participate freely in this election.

Make sure you and your supporters follow this Code – this will help you all to avoid situations where your honesty or integrity could be questioned. Make sure you and your supporters are courteous when dealing with other candidates and their supporters. Above all, you and your supporters should follow the Seven Principles of Public Life (commonly known as the ‘Nolan Principles’) which are the ethical standards for anyone working in the public sector.  The Nolan Principles are:

1. Selflessness: You should act solely in terms of the public interest.
2. Integrity: You must avoid placing yourself under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence you in your work. You should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for yourself, your family, or your friends. You must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
3. Objectivity: You must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
4. Accountability: You are accountable to the public for your decisions and actions and must submit yourself to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
5. Openness: You should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
6. Honesty: You should be truthful.
7. Leadership: You should exhibit these principles in your own behaviour. You should actively promote and robustly support the principles and be willing to challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

If you have any questions throughout the election process, please contact the Jersey Electoral Authority for independent and impartial advice at admin@jea.je  

As a guiding principle, if there is any doubt about a particular activity, candidates and their supporters should ask themselves “What would a reasonable observer think?”

The start of your campaign

You can start campaigning at any time. You do not have to wait until you are nominated to declare that you will run for election, ask people to support you or publish campaign material. However, you must wait until the day after the nominations are announced before you put any posters up in public places (Tuesday 28 April).  

Be aware that election spending includes expenses incurred at any time before the poll for that election on goods or services which are used during the 4 months before election day, so you will need to keep a record of your spending from 7 February 2026 up to and including election day, particularly if you purchased rosettes or posters earlier. 

You will officially become a candidate once your nomination paper has been submitted and successfully verified. An announcement will be made on the vote.je website before noon on Monday 27 April 2026 detailing all of the candidates standing in the elections, and this will signal the start of the official campaign period. 

Once you have officially become a candidate, you are entitled to access a Candidates’ List drawn from the Electoral Register for election campaign purposes This List will be provided by the Parish or Parishes to cover the constituency in which you are standing. SEE SECTION 6 (DATA PROTECTION). 

Postal voting

The Law has been changed so that anyone can apply to postal vote if it is more convenient for them to do so. Voters need to apply in advance and then the relevant ballot papers will be sent to them, along with a pre-paid returns envelope and a declaration form to confirm their identity. A copy of the application to postal vote form is available to download here Postal Voting | Vote.je or can be collected from Parish Halls or the States Greffe at Morier House. 

The deadline for applying for a postal vote for the election is noon on Thursday 30 April 2026. Under Article 46D of the Elections (Jersey) Law 2002, neither you nor your supporters should help to complete or deliver any application form from a person wishing to register to postal vote. It is an offence to interfere with the postal voting process and if you are found guilty you will be liable to a fine. 

Data protection

The Electoral Register contains people’s personal data and so its use is very carefully controlled. With the introduction of the new Automatic Register, Islanders will automatically be included if they are eligible based on age and residency.  However, a separate Candidates’ List will be created by the Parishes which will only include those on the Electoral Register who are content to have their names and addresses made available. 

As a candidate for election, you will be holding and using constituents’ personal information. As such, you will be legally obliged to register with the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner (JOIC) as a data controller whilst you are an election candidate. There is no charge for this, however you must register before you can access the Candidates’ List. 

Please note that before you register, you will need to create a ‘JOIC Registration Portal Account’. Step-by-step guidance on how to register is available on the JOIC’s website at jerseyoic.org/guidance/data-protection/registration/registration-1. If you already have an account for another organisation, you can use the same login details, but then will need to create a new registration. 

Once you have created your account, you will be able to complete your registration at jerseyoic.org/register-renew 

If you have any difficulties setting up an account or registering, please contact the JOIC office on telephone number 716530, and a member of their team will guide you through the process. 

As a candidate for election, it is your responsibility to ensure you comply with the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 and Data Protection Authority (Jersey) Law 2018. If you are provided with a copy of the Candidates’ List for election purposes, you must only use it in connection with those purposes and not disclose any details that appear in the List to other persons. If you have supplied a copy of the Candidates’ List to your supporters, they must also comply with the requirements above, although you remain responsible. You must ensure that you keep the Candidates’ List secure. Once you no longer need the Candidates’ List for any electoral purpose, you should securely destroy any copies supplied to you as a candidate in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s guidelines. 

To find out more information about your duties as a data controller, please visit the JOIC website at jerseyoic.org. 

Hustings

The JEA will set the dates for the hustings, book the locations and arrange for the events to be filmed. The services of an impartial mediator will be provided and those costs will be met by vote.je.  

All other arrangements are entirely a matter for candidates to determine themselves, including whether to allow introductory speeches and the duration of such speeches.  

Campaigning outside polling stations

Articles 29 (1B) and (1C) of Elections (Jersey) Law 2002 (‘Supervision of polling station and its vicinity’) provide that: 

(1B) No more than one representative of each candidate at the election, in addition to the candidate, may remain in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the polling station while the poll is open.  

(1C) For the purposes of paragraph (1B), a representative of a political party is to be regarded as a representative of each of the candidates endorsed by that party.  

This means that even if there are 3 candidates from a particular party standing in one district, there can only be one person (in addition to those 3 candidates) representing them outside each polling station within that district. This includes pre-poll. 

You and your supporters should keep access to polling places and the pavements around polling places clear to allow voters to enter. The Autorisé (the Jurat or other person who oversees the polling station on election day) is responsible for maintaining order in the polling place, and you may be asked to move by polling station staff or police officers if you are impeding access by voters to a polling place. If you are standing outside of the polling station, you should be careful to ensure that your approach is proportionate and recognise that groups of supporters may be perceived as intimidating by voters.  

Spending on your election campaign

The Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Law 2014 sets out the rules which candidates must follow during the regulated election period (the period running from exactly 4 months before election day up to and including the day itself). It also explains the requirement after the elections, for ALL candidates, whether they have been elected or not, to submit a signed declaration form detailing their spending related to the election process.  

‘Expenses’ are regarded as any sums incurred at any time before the poll relating to the supply of goods or services used during the regulated period to promote or precure a candidate’s election OR to prejudice the electoral prospects of another candidate at the same election. 

Expenses can be direct or notional (such as when services are provided free of charge or at a discounted rate). If you do get services or goods given free of charge or at a discount rate these have to be declared. The notional value is the difference between the open market/commercial rate for those goods and services and the actual cost to the candidate. If that value exceeds £145 then you must declare that as a donation. 

Example: A friend who runs a PR agency creates a website for you and charges you a reduced rate of £300 when it would usually cost £500. In this instance, as the difference between the price you have paid and the commercial price is more than £145 you would have to declare that as a donation.   

If expenditure relates to something which promotes more than one candidate (such as leaflet which publicises those candidates endorsed by a political party) then the cost should be shared equally by each of them.  

The purpose of the legislation is to ensure there is a level playing field for all candidates and that no one is disadvantaged in the election process because they have less to spend than another candidate and conversely that no one is advantaged by having more to spend on their campaign.  

For Connétable or Deputy candidates the spending limit is set at £2,517 per candidate plus 13p for every person on the electoral register in the Parish/Constituency in which the candidate is standing. 

For Senatorial candidates the spending limit is £4,146 per candidate plus 13p for every person on the electoral register.  

The Electoral Administrator in your Parish/ District will be able to provide a guideline figure on the register, based on the number on the main register when it closes at noon on 17 April, but the definitive number will only be available when the Supplementary register closes at noon on Thursday 28 May 2026.  

After the election, the JEA has the power to request that a candidate produces invoices, receipts and other proof of expenditure so that there can be a full audit of expenditure. Any candidate delivering a declaration which is found to be false, will be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine in accordance with Article 6 of the Public Elections (Expenditure and Donations) (Jersey) Law 2014.  

Within 4 weeks of the election, you are required to submit a written declaration of election expenses, itemising the amounts you spent. For 2026 that deadline date will be Friday 3 July. The JEA will send you a reminder on Monday 29 June, 5 working days before the deadline. Anyone failing to submit a form by the deadline, without reasonable excuse, will be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine. When you submit your form, you will be provided with a written acknowledgement of its receipt by the JEA. You must declare donations you have received if they exceed £145 (or represent goods or services which exceed £145 in value).  

All anonymous donations must be sent to the Treasurer of the States within 4 weeks of being received and a written declaration submitted to the JEA at the same time. YOU CAN NOT KEEP AN ANONYMOUS DONATION. 

In accordance with Article 16 of the Law, all declarations will be published on vote.je after the election. If you stood in a previous election, you can re-use posters, rosettes etc without having to declare them as an expense. 

Third Party Expenses 

A Third Party is a person or persons who are not themselves candidates, but who choose to campaign to promote or procure the election of any candidate OR to prejudice the electoral prospects of any candidate in the election. Third Parties are also required to submit a declaration of expenditure after the election if their expenses exceed £600. The deadline is the same as candidates, Friday 3 July. Their spending limit is half the allowance for a candidate (£2073 in respect of efforts relating to Senatorial candidates plus 6.5p per person on the entire electoral register and £1,258.50 for Connétable/Deputy candidates plus 6.5p per person on the electoral register of the Parish/Constituency). They are also required to declare any donations they receive which exceed £145. 

APPENDIX 1- Summary of Highway Guidelines 2026

Summary List of Conditions for Campaign Advertising Material Under the Highways (Exemption for Campaign Advertising Material) (Jersey) Order 2026. 

List of Summary Conditions: 

Condition 1 – Interpretation 

• “Traffic sign” has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956. 

Condition 2 – General condition 

Campaign advertising material must not be placed above a highway in a way that: 

• Obstructs or prevents ordinary use of the highway; or 
• Creates a reasonable risk to public safety. 

Condition 3 – Location – measurements to footpaths and carriageways 

Over footpaths: 

• Minimum height: 7 feet above the footpath. 
• If under 18 feet in height, it must also be at least 1 foot (vertically) from the kerb. 

Over carriageways: 

• Minimum height: 18 feet above the carriageway. 

Condition 4 – Location – signs projected from buildings 

• Any projected sign extending over a highway must comply with Article 1(e) of the Highway Encroachments (Jersey) Regulations 1957. 

Condition 5 – Location – minimum distance from junctions, crossings and traffic signals 

• Material must be at least 10 metres away (in any direction) from any traffic sign indicating “stop” or “give way”. 

Condition 6 – Location – property entrances 

• Material must not obscure or reduce visibility for drivers entering or leaving a property. 

Condition 7 – Location – specific prohibition for Victoria Avenue 

• Material must not be placed above Victoria Avenue. 

Condition 8 – Location and manner – attachment to traffic sign structures and street furniture 

• Material must not obscure or reduce visibility of any traffic sign. 
• Material attached to street furniture must not prevent access to or normal use of that street furniture. 
• “Street furniture” has the meaning given under the Road Works and Events (Jersey) Law 2016. 

Condition 9 – Material – design and content 

• Material must not resemble a traffic sign in design, colour, or format. 
• Printed campaign material must: 

1. be at least 297 × 420mm. 
2. be no more than 450 × 600mm. 
3. include no text smaller than 35mm in height. 

Condition 10 – Material and manner of placement – withstanding weather conditions 

• Material must be secure and robust enough to withstand weather conditions reasonably expected at its location. 

Condition 11 – Time and manner of placement 

• Material must not be installed or removed at a time or in a way that presents a safety risk to the public (including the installer).