Proxy and Postal Voting

New Applications to Vote by POST or PROXY from 1st January 2007:

From 1st January 2007, every new absent voting application must include the applicant's signature and date of birth to be valid.  The Regulations prescribe that:

• All applications require the date of birth to be supplied in a dd/mm/yyyy format
• All applications must have the signature supplied
• Where a postal vote is to be sent to an address other than the registered address, a reason for this redirection must be given
• Where applicable, the reason why a signature is unable to be provided and the name and address of any person who has assisted the application

These provisions are in addition to the existing requirements for absent vote applications, namely that:

• They must be in writing and be dated by the applicant
• They must include the full name of the applicant
• They must include the registration address or for a postal proxy application, the elector's name and address and the proxy's name and address
• They must include the address where the postal ballot paper should be sent, and if this is not the registration address, a reason for this re-direction
• On proxy applications, they must include the reason for the application and attestation if it is for more than a single election.

Where an applicant is unable to provide a signature, they may request that the Electoral Registration Officer waive the requirement for a signature.  Any such request must include the reason(s) for it, along with the name and address of any person who has assisted them with the completion of the application.

Existing Absent Voters:

By law, all Electoral Registration Officers had to send a notice after 1st January 2007, to all existing postal, proxy and postal proxy voters, requiring them to supply a specimen of their signature and their date of birth.  Reminders were sent to anyone who had not replied, and if no further response was received from the elector, by law the postal/proxy voting status of that elector had to be cancelled with effect from 42 days after the initial notice.

Timescales for Making Absent Vote Applications Prior to Polling:

• The latest date for making a new application for a postal vote is 5 pm eleven days before Polling Day. 
• The latest date for making a new application for a proxy vote is 5 pm six days before Polling Day.   
• The latest date for amending an existing postal or postal proxy application is 5 pm eleven days before Polling Day.
• In the case of a medical emergency on the grounds of unforeseen physical incapacity, a proxy application can be received up until 5pm on the day of poll.

Anyone wishing to make an application for a postal or proxy vote should contact the Electoral Services Office on 01743 - 281145 or 281019.

http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk