returning officer

American  

noun

British.

1. a public official appointed to conduct and preside at an election.

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returning officer British  

noun

1. (in Britain, Canada, Australia, etc) an official in charge of conducting an election in a constituency or electoral district, who supervises the counting of votes and announces the results

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Etymology

Origin of returning officer

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

returning officer

With Farage absent, the other candidates lined up as the returning officer spent five minutes declaring how many votes each of them received.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Following the election, it said it would "prepare a statutory report on all aspects of the Senedd election, including monitoring returning officer performance and making any necessary recommendations to the Welsh government".

From BBC ● May 6, 2026

However, the by-election's acting returning officer said polling station staff were trained to look for undue influence on voters and "no such issues" had been reported during polling hours.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

Proceedings were informally suspended early on Monday after the returning officer was allegedly subjected to "obstruction, intimidation, and unwarranted hostility by a number of representatives", a notice said.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025

As there was no habitation whatever in this "borough" of Old Sarum, a tent was put up for the convenience of the returning officer at election times.

From The Rise of the Democracy by Joseph Clayton