Election postal vote

[Boscombe]

Can I just ask, has anyone received their postal vote yet? Mine has not turned up and I am going away tomorrow. Just wondering if the delay is Southwark's or (yet again) it's got caught up in ED's mail delivery shambles?

[Peckham native]

Got mine middle of last week.

[Mau]

We got ours late last week

[RubyGraeme]

I applied May 31st. Got confirmation email immediately. Received Postal Vote notification card and postal vote form and envelope yesterday. I suspect it's Royal Mail

[geh]

missing here too, the post is particular bad at the moment, even by our standards.  Postie apologetically dropped a load (I mean a load) off a few weeks ago, apologising that they had been off sick, and no one covered the round.  Suspect they are away again, because no post for 2 weeks now, bank cards, driving licence, postal vote, it goes on and on.....

[Boscombe]

Mine thankfully turned up sometime today, just in the nick of time. Hope anyone still waiting has similar good fortune.

[Sue]

I had mine some time ago, and have already voted.

There is a number to phone if you haven't had yours yet (it's  a  bit pointless giving the number on the form, isn't it, as if you have  the form already,  you obviously don't need the number!)

Sorry, I don't have the number as I returned the form and binned anything that came with it, but hopefully someone may be able to post it here.

Edited June 25 by Sue

[se22]

I prefer to vote in person. There's no chance of the voting paper not getting delivered in time.

[FredCasa]

We had our ballot papers delivered at the last minute before going away. The Dulwich side of the sorting office in Highshore Road is in complete disarray, as confirmed by several postmen. I have complained several times, including via our MP. Please write to your new MP about this. They‘ll want to know about the danger of voters being disenfranchised because of Royal Mail.

[Castleton]

12 hours ago, Boscombe said:

Can I just ask, has anyone received their postal vote yet? Mine has not turned up and I am going away tomorrow. Just wondering if the delay is Southwark's or (yet again) it's got caught up in ED's mail delivery shambles?

Don't have mine yet, worried now

[Sue]

12 hours ago, se22 said:

I prefer to vote in person. There's no chance of the voting paper not getting delivered in time.

Whilst I agree, I think I must have applied for mine during Covid (to avoid close proximity with other people at the polling station), as I have never had a postal vote before.

Also it ensures that you can vote if you will be away from home on polling day, which you might well not know in advance of an election date being publicised (unless you have inside information, of course 😂)

Edited June 26 by Sue

[ctovey]

Got ours and voted last week

[h3+]

I haven't got mine yet. Emailed southwark on Monday and got the below . I think I will email the new MP as i didn't even get a polling card. Note that that Southwark say that if you have applied for a postal you can't vote in person if the postal doesn't turn up

 

Quote

 

When you will receive your postal vote

 

The date you receive your postal vote will depend on:

•         when you applied

•         when your application was successfully processed

•         how long post takes to be delivered to you – particularly if you are an overseas voter

For postal vote applications processed by 30 May, your postal vote pack was sent around Friday 14 June.

 

Applications processed by 10 June are being sent around 19 June 2024.

 

Applications processed by 19 June are being sent around 24 June 2024.

 

Why aren’t postal votes 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 printed after this stage.

 

Due to the short notice for this election, specialist election printers and Royal Mail are working at capacity to print and deliver over 8 million postal votes across the UK.

It’s a complex 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 voters have early priority because of the extra time it takes for international mail to be delivered and returned.

 

Replacement postal votes

If you have spoilt, lost or not received your postal ballot pack, you can apply for a replacement from Friday 28 June 2024 until 5pm on Thursday 4 July 2024.

Replacements for lost or spoilt postal ballots can only be issued in person at Southwark Council Offices, 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. You must bring a photo ID and proof of address with you.

 

If you cannot collect your replacement postal vote in person, or have any questions, email [email protected] or call 020 7525 7373 for more information.

 

Returning your completed postal vote

Completed postal ballot packs must reach The Returning Officer by 10pm on Thursday 4 July 2024 to be counted.

 

If you miss the post, you can either take your postal vote to a polling station in the relevant constituency on 4 July or hand it to a member of the Electoral Services team at Southwark Council Offices, 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH, during normal office hours, before closing of the poll. You must complete a form to go with any hand-delivered postal votes.

You can hand in a maximum of five postal votes for other people, plus your own postal vote.

 

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/voting-and-elections/general-election-4-july-2024

 

 

[Tuffstuff100]

Yeah not received mine 😞 - slightly panicking2. Applied on the deadline day so hoping it comes this week. otherwise i might not be able to vote which would be very annoying

[h3+]

I contacted Ellie Reaves office and they said they would chase Royal Mail and also you can register for a proxy vote but the deadline is 5pm today (26th June) 

[Castleton]

Got a whole stack of post today, including the postal vote thankfully

[Tuffstuff100]

11 minutes ago, Castleton said:

Got a whole stack of post today, including the postal vote thankfully

Awesome - when did you request your postal vote? really hoping I see it when i get back this evening

[Castleton]

3 minutes ago, Tuffstuff100 said:

Awesome - when did you request your postal vote? really hoping I see it when i get back this evening

I'm just registered for postal all the time

 

[Tuffstuff100]

Just now, Castleton said:

 

thanks - anticipating mine won't be there then as you'll be getting the early ones I'd imagine. Oh well let's see 🙂

[MrsBu]

I tried to change from postal vote to proxy yesterday before the deadline- you can’t if you have a postal vote that has been ‘sent’, even if you haven’t received your ballot papers. 

We are out of the country now until 5th so 2 of us in our household have lost the ability to vote because of the combined inadequate Royal Mail service and the inability for Southwark electoral council to anticipate or work around a postal problem they are well aware of and has been on national news.

I have emailed all 3 of our local councillors this week and Ellie Reaves and had no response. 

I worry that any postal votes being sent from our local area won’t even get back in time for the count. I feel this needs to be taken further. 
 

 

 

[MrChuffy]

Received postal poll card at the start of June saying that postal vote would be sent around 14 July. Have yet to receive anything. The postal service in the area is simply not fit for purpose.   

[Harry Low]

Hello,

Harry Low from BBC London here.

Would anybody whose postal vote has yet to arrive be willing to talk to us tomorrow?

We will be in SE22 from 1030ish until the afternoon. Feel free to call/WhatsApp on 07542 861 399 or email [email protected].

I have previously covered the issues in the area: 

Thanks in advance.

Best wishes,

Harry Low

07542 861 399

[email protected]

Edited June 27 by Harry Low

[Spartacus]

BBC News - East Dulwich voters still awaiting postal vote
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c849w09535ko

 

Thanks @Harry Low

[h3+]

Rejoice! My postal vote has arrived along with some post dated from the 18th June 

[sunbob]

SE22 is mentioned in the last paragraph of this article:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/01/thousands-unable-vote-delays-postal-ballots-uk-general-election