Postal vote chaos sparks polling reform demand

Election law needs urgent reform, officials in charge of polls have warned, as fears grow that many voters may have been disenfranchised by postal ballot delays and ID requirements.

The Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) is calling for earlier deadlines for voters applying for postal ballots, giving councils more time to print and post packs – amid reports that thousands were not received before polling day.

Emergency proxy powers should also be introduced to rescue people who did not receive their postal votes in time, the body said.

Laura Lock, deputy chief executive of the AEA, told The Guardian: ‘With a short timetable and an election held when many are on holiday – plus print and delivery suppliers working at capacity – demand has tested the system.’

A record 10 million people are believed to have registered for a postal vote this year, up 20 per cent on the figure for 2019.

Election law needs urgent reform, officials in charge of polls have warned, as fears grow that many voters may have been disenfranchised by postal ballot delays and ID requirements

The Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) is calling for earlier deadlines for voters applying for postal ballots, giving councils more time to print and post packs – amid reports that thousands were not received before polling day

But thousands of ballots are feared not to have arrived in time, triggering a blame game between Royal Mail, councils and ministers.

Yesterday Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch hit out at Uttlesford District Council in her Essex constituency after thousands of postal ballots were not even sent out, potentially jeopardising her place in a future leadership contest.

She accused the council of having ‘potentially disenfranchised up to 2,600 postal voters’.

‘Lots of questions on doorstep today about missing postal ballots in North West Essex and all the shenanigans this might entail,’ she wrote on X.

The council has insisted that missing packs were posted first-class last week and that some were hand-delivered to voters who were due to go away before polling day. 

But if the election result is tight and leads to legal claims for the process to be re-run, Mrs Badenoch would be counted as a candidate rather than an MP – and so would be ineligible to run for any Conservative leadership contest.

Royal Mail said there was no backlog of postal ballots and that staff checked delivery officers to ensure any remaining packs were taken to councils before polls closed.

A spokesman said: ‘We are proud of the role we play in the democratic process. There is no backlog in our network. 

‘We remain confident that postal votes handed to us on time have been delivered in time for polling day.’

Yesterday was also the first general election where voters were required to bring photo ID to combat fraud, with some reports on social media of people being turned away for not having the right documents.

Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch hit out at Uttlesford District Council in her Essex constituency after thousands of postal ballots were not even sent out, potentially jeopardising her place in a future leadership contest

The Electoral Commission said: ‘This is the first general election where ID is required so there may be cases of individuals forgetting their ID.

‘We will be collecting evidence after the election to gauge the impact of the new requirement.’

There were also claims of attempts at voter intimidation, with a van parked outside Brick Lane Mosque in East London bearing the slogan: ‘A vote for Labour is a vote for genocide.’