Issue and return of Postal voting pack
The Electoral Registration Officer is required to keep records of those applications for postal votes that have been granted.
The records must indicate
• the elector’s full name (unless the elector is registered anonymously).
• the address to which the ballot paper is to be sent.
• It should include the elector number, and if the elector is registered anonymously, their elector number must also be included.
When an election or referendum is going to be held, the ERO uses these records to instruct the printing services company to send out postal vote packs.
According to advice on Northumberland County Council website “your postal vote pack may not be sent out until 4 working days before the election”.
The postal voting pack contains:
• Ballot paper
• Postal voting statement
• Envelope A
• Envelope B
The elector should follow these instructions:
1. Mark their vote on the ballot paper by putting an X in the empty box to the right of the name of the person they want to vote for. The elector can only vote for 1 candidate.
2. Put their ballot paper into envelope A and seal it.
3. Complete their postal voting statement with their date of birth and signature. Make sure you fill in your date of birth not today’s date.
4. Put their completed postal voting statement and envelope A (which has the marked ballot paper inside), into envelope B and seal it.
5. Post envelope B. It is free to return a postal vote by post so there is no need for a stamp if you are posting it in the UK.
The elector needs to ensure that they return their ballot paper AND their postal voting statement or their vote will not count.
You need to return your postal vote so that it arrives by the close of the poll. If your postal vote pack arrives too late to be returned by post, it can be handed in to the Returning Officer at your local authority or handed in at any polling station within the constituency.