Important update for postal voters in East Devon

Residents in the East Devon area concerned about delays affecting postal voting in the UK General Election are urged to read the following guidance.

Postal votes for the two constituencies that cover the whole East Devon area (Exmouth and Exeter East, and Honiton and Sidmouth) were despatched on:

• 14 June to overseas electors
• 18 June to voters living in the UK who were already a postal voter before 22 May
• 21 June to new postal voters

How to apply for a replacement postal vote pack

If you have not received your postal vote pack, you can apply for a replacement up until 5pm on polling day, 4 July. To do this please call East Devon District Council (EDDC) on 01395 571529 or email elections@eastdevon.gov.uk. Before we can give you a replacement postal vote pack, we will ask for proof of identity.

For replacement requests made before 5pm on Wednesday 3 July, these can be collected from EDDC’s Blackdown House offices in Honiton.

By law, any replacement requests made between 5pm on Wednesday 3 July and 5pm on Thursday 4 July must be made in person with accepted proof of identity. We will then issue your postal vote pack to you in person, and you can return it straight away.

Returning your postal vote pack by hand

To return your postal vote in person:

• return it to the address printed on your pack during office hours until 4 July
• return it to a polling station in your constituency between 7am and 10pm on 4 July. To find your nearest polling station, use the Electoral Commission’s postcode finder service

When you return a postal vote pack by hand, you must fill in a form for the pack to be accepted.
You can return your own postal vote and up to five additional postal votes at this election from family, friends, or neighbours.

Candidates and campaigners are not allowed to collect or return postal votes on electors’ behalf.

Why are postal votes not sent out as soon as an application comes in?

Candidate nominations closed at 4pm on Friday 7 June, so ballot papers could only be finalised and sent to print after that.

Due to the short notice for the 4 July UK Parliamentary General Election, specialist election printers and Royal Mail have been working at capacity to print and deliver an anticipated 10 million postal votes across the UK.

It is a complicated process, with personalised postal vote statements matched with the correct ballot paper. There is also a need to produce personalised envelopes and instruction sheets. We also need to carry out crucial security checks which add to the time needed to prepare and send votes out.

Postal votes for overseas electors have early priority because of the extra time it takes for international mail to be delivered and returned.