Don’t miss the post and lose your votes
With elections in Telford and Wrekin just over a week away, postal voters are being reminded to return their vote today.
At every election some voters’ voices are not heard because they post their postal votes too late for them to be counted. At last year’s European election at least 100 postal votes in the borough were received after the count took place.
With the potential for postal delays from the spring Bank Holiday falling just before the Thursday May 7 poll date, postal voters are urged to get their ballots in the letterbox by Friday 1 May.
Around 35,500 people in the borough have opted to vote by post with more than 15,000 of these postal votes for the Parliamentary, Borough, Town and Parish Council elections have already been returned.
Returning Officer, Richard Partington, said: “Nearly a third of registered voters in Telford and Wrekin have chosen to vote by post and we’ve already received nearly half of these votes.
“The early return of postal votes means that we can make all the necessary security checks in preparation for the count after the election on 7 May.
“With the Bank Holiday coming up, we’re encouraging anyone who still needs to return their postal vote to do this before the weekend to ensure that their vote gets to us in time and is counted.
“At the last European election in 2014 more than a hundred postal votes were lost as they were returned too late to be counted.”
Anyone returning a postal vote is reminded to check that they have signed and put their date of birth on the form that comes with their ballot paper. A common mistake is for people to put today’s date on the form. If they do this, unfortunately their vote can’t be considered.
Anyone with a postal vote should ensure that they are personally responsible for voting and for posting it with the Royal Mail.
There is a ballot box at Addenbrooke House reception during office hours for anyone wishing to return their postal votes in person.
Voters who have not opted to vote by post will have received polling cards which detail the location of their polling station which will be open from 7am until 10pm on 7 May.
Some voters may find that their polling station location has changed and they should check their polling cards for this information.
Regular updates from the Parliamentary election count on the night of 7 May and from the Borough Council count on Friday 8 May will be available via the Council’s twitter feed @TelfordWrekin, using #TWelection
