Hi Ell – You report that: “If an applicant is unable to provide a signature or a consistent signature due to any disability or inability to read or write, they can request that the requirement for a signature on the postal vote application (and postal voting statement) is waived. The applicant must provide with their application the reason for the request and the name and address of any person who has assisted them with completing the application.
The ERO will need to gain proof or evidence in order to be satisfied that the applicant is unable to provide a signature, be satisfied that the request for a signature waiver is genuine and is not being used as an attempt to avoid the postal vote security measures.”
I did not know that there was an alternative available to accommodate those who might no longer be capable of signing their name. I doubt that many people know this is the case. I can imagine frail elderly people with arthritic fingers producing shaky signatures that would not survive the automated scrutiny controlled by Idox. How many votes are discarded due to an illegible signature?
Was this another type of disenfranchisement or could these votes be reassigned during the unsupervised in house process that Idox maintain control of with their Postal Vote Managed Service. Is there a process for contacting the voter when their postal vote has been rejected? This would allow for a correction or a later attempt to vote directly at the polling station.