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Royal Mail said there was “no backlog” of postal votes after postmasters urged the company to meet the deadline for ballot delivery, with thousands of voters waiting for lost ballots.
People across the UK are reporting they have yet to receive their ballot papers ahead of the July 4 election, with delays being blamed on Brexit, local government staffing shortages, problems with printing presses and Royal Mail deliveries.
People who have just received their ballots are being instructed to bring them to their polling stations on Election Day to have them counted.
Mr Hollinrake said the delay was being investigated “urgently”.
Health Secretary Maria Caulfield told Sky News on Tuesday: “Kevin is taking this very seriously. He has been in direct contact with Royal Mail. Kevin is investigating this urgently. I know extra people have been brought into this, they are searching every post office and trying to make sure that this is addressed.”
The Election Commission was unable to share information about which areas were affected, but several constituencies have reported issues. Telegraph Voters in 91 constituencies, including ministerial constituencies, have expressed concern over not receiving their ballot papers.
In the 2019 election, 21% of voters voted by post. The Local Government Association (LGA) said more than 1.3 million applications for postal voting were made between May 22 and June 19 this year and that it expects a 20% increase in postal voting since then, putting further pressure on an overburdened system.
Petrina Rees, leader of Uttlesford Council in north-west Essex, said 2,644 postal ballots were sent out nine days late due to a “human error” in printing.
Southwark Council in south London is aware of issues with postal voting in SE22 and a spokesman said it had “raised the issue at a senior level with Royal Mail”.
But a Royal Mail spokesman said there were “no outstanding issues” and that its dedicated elections teams were working closely with local authorities to ensure ballot packs were delivered to voters on time. “We have investigated where concerns have been raised and have confirmed that ballot packs are being delivered as soon as they arrive within our network,” it added.
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said over the weekend they were concerned voters would miss out on voting because they would not receive their postal ballot before leaving for their holidays.
Downing Street said Chancellor Rishi Sunak did not share concerns that voters might be disenfranchised and that his office was working closely with other agencies to resolve the issue.
Mr Hollinrake criticised Royal Mail for failing to predict demand, saying: “We urge Royal Mail to do all they can to ensure that postal votes get to the right people at the right time – time is of the essence now.”
“There’s a manpower issue. They’re hiring extra staff, which I welcome, but they need to make sure they have the right number of people to deliver the mail during these busy times.”
“We can’t let mail sit in sorting offices. It needs to be delivered to people’s homes. We need more staff to do that.”
The elections board says people who are concerned their mail-in ballot won’t reach election officials on time can submit their ballot in person at City Hall or any polling place on Election Day.
After the election, he said there would be a thorough investigation into what happened.
The LGA has called for a review of an already “overburdened” system, which is under further pressure from an “unprecedented increase” in postal voters.
The SNP said it was particularly concerned about losing votes because of delays to postal voting and the election date coinciding with Scottish school holidays.
Mr Swinney highlighted “significant reports of people attempting to vote by post despite having formally applied to do so before the deadline of 19 June”.
He added that Mr Sunak’s “summer recess was not taken into account” in Scotland when he called the election. “Postal ballots did not reach people, some were already overseas and the timing of the election has disenfranchised them, which is hugely unfortunate,” he said. Sunday Morning with Trevor PhillipsOn Sky News.
Asked whether the Prime Minister shared Mr Swinney’s concerns, Mr Sunak’s official spokesman told reporters on Monday: “No. We are aware that there are concerns in some areas around the printing and delivery of postal ballot packs.”
“We are working closely with the Electoral Commission, electoral officers, Royal Mail and printers to help resolve these issues.”
“We understand that Royal Mail will also be inspecting their delivery system on polling day to identify any remaining ballot packs in the postal system and hand these over to electoral officers before polling stations close.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “We are deeply concerned on every front because every single person who is disenfranchised, regardless of their political stance or who they vote for, is one too many. That is the basis of our democracy.”
He said it was important to “minimise the damage” and called on the Electoral Commission, the Electoral Commission and Royal Mail to address the issue urgently.
Malcolm Barr, chairman of the Scottish Electoral Commission, said that for postal voting to be a “viable option”, electoral officials “must rely on a predictable and reliable service from printers and Royal Mail”.
He also said councils should take a “consistent” approach to setting up emergency postal polling stations to avoid confusion.
A commission spokesman said: “Tens of thousands of postal votes were delivered over the weekend and we understand that local authorities and Royal Mail are working to deliver the last of the votes as quickly as possible.”
“As with all elections, given the election timeline, administrators have a limited amount of time to prepare and send out mail-in ballots.
“Anyone who has not yet received their postal ballot pack should contact their local authority to request a replacement. Voters can also bring their postal ballot pack to their polling station on election day if they are unsure about receiving it in the mail.”
“Voter can also ask someone to submit a ballot on their behalf. A voter can have up to five people submit a ballot for them. Post Voters must bring the ballot paper along with their own ballot and fill it out at the polling place when they arrive.
“We recognise the pressures on the postal vote system due to the holiday season and we continue to provide advice and guidance to our electoral services teams to support the postal vote process.”
“After the election, we will be surveying voters and election officials to understand their experiences in this election, and the administration of mail-in ballots is one of the areas we will be investigating.”
Regulators said voters could only apply for an emergency proxy vote if they were unable to vote due to an unforeseen circumstance, such as a medical emergency, being away at work or having their voter ID lost or stolen.