Postal voters in South Somerset are being reminded to return their ballot papers in order to ensure their vote counts in the upcoming General Election.
Tens of thousands of postal voting packs have been sent out from South Somerset District Council’s (SSDC) elections team over the last week, with many already starting to come back before polling day on Thursday 8 June.
Postal voters will be voting to elect a Member of Parliament for the Yeovil or the Somerton and Frome constituencies.
SSDC would like to offer the following advice to postal voters to make sure that ballot papers can be accepted and ensure that their vote counts:
- Put your date of birth where indicated, not the date you sign the Postal Voting Statement. Your postal vote will be rejected otherwise.
- Sign the Postal Voting Statement where indicated. If the signature does not match the one SSDC holds, the postal vote will be rejected.
- Couples must ensure they do not mix up their paperwork. We receive a number of Postal Vote Statements each election where partners have signed the other person’s Statement and vice versa. Both postal votes will be rejected if this happens.
- Make sure you put your correct date of birth – don’t guess! It is surprising how many Postal Voting Statements we receive back where the date of birth is different to the date of birth the elector has supplied when applying for a postal vote. If the dates do not match, your postal vote will be rejected.
- Please take the time to read the instructions carefully to ensure your vote counts.
Ian Clarke, Electoral Registration Officer for South Somerset District Council, said, “As electors have made the effort to return a postal vote, we don’t like to reject them without good reason, but if the signatures and/or dates of birth do not match what we hold, we really don’t have any choice but to reject them. Make sure you read the instructions provided within your postal voting pack so that your vote counts”.