Postal votes will begin landing on the doorsteps of residents across the District over the coming days for the upcoming Police and Crime Commissioner election on the 2^nd of May 2024.

 

Residents are advised to keep their eyes peeled for their postal votes and should aim to complete and return them as soon as possible by posting them in any Royal Mail Post Box.

 

For those who are not currently registered to vote or to receive a postal vote, there is still a small amount of time to do so. The deadline to register to vote is Tuesday 16^th of April and can be done online here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.The deadline to register to receive a postal vote is 5pm on Wednesday the 17^th of April, with details of how to do this available here: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-vote/postal-voting.

 

Residents who may prefer to hand in their postal votes to the council’s customer services team or at a polling station, should be aware that there are new countrywide regulations coming into effect for this election. From now on, an individual will only be allowed to hand in a maximum of five postal votes in addition to their own and will need to complete and submit a form which includes declaring whether or not they are a political campaigner.

 

If an individual does fall under the definition of ‘political campaigner’, they are only allowed to hand in the postal votes for themselves, close relatives, and individuals they have direct care responsibilities for.

 

Electoral Services Manager, Darren Whitney, said: “We encourage everyone who receives a postal vote for this election to return it to a post box in good time. The form which residents are now required to complete if physically handing their postal vote in, requires making a declaration, so if you need to return your own, or anyone else’s postal vote to Customer Services or a polling station please be prepared for it to take longer than it has done in previous years. The quickest and easiest option is to return postal votes through the postal service.”

 

If you have not applied to receive a postal vote, do not wish to register for one but you are registered to vote, you can attend a polling station on Polling Day, 2^nd of May 2024. Please check your polling card, when it arrives, to find your polling station information.

 

Residents are also reminded that they now need to bring ID with them in order to vote in any election. If you do not have valid eligible ID, you can apply for a temporary form of ID called a Voter Authority Certificate, you can find a list of suitable ID and apply for a VAC here: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-vote/photo-id-youll-need