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The Royal Mail has said it has “no backlog” of postal votes, after the Post Office minister urged it to ensure the deadline for delivering ballots is met, with thousands of voters waiting on missing packs.
People across the UK have reported they are yet to receive their ballot ahead of the 4 July election. Delays have been blamed on Brexit, understaffed local government teams, problems with printers, and Royal Mail deliveries.
People who have signed up for a postal vote and have yet to receive their packs are being urged to contact their local council.
Those who are only just receiving them are being told to take their completed postal vote to polling stations on election day to be counted.
Mr Hollinrake said was he was “urgently” investigating the delays.
Maria Caulfield, a health minister, told Sky News on Tuesday: “Kevin is taking this very seriously. He’s in direct contact with the Royal Mail. Kevin is investigating this urgently. I know there’s extra resources going into this to try and do a sweep of all the sorting offices and make sure they’re out there.”
The Electoral Commission was not able to share information about which areas have been affected. However, multiple constituencies have flagged issues. According to The Telegraph voters in 91 constituencies, including those of Cabinet ministers, have raised concerns about their ballots failing to arrive.
In the 2019 election, 21 per cent of voters used a postal vote. The Local Government Association (LGA) said it expected postal votes to have increased by 20 per cent since then, with more than 1.3 million postal vote applications made between 22 May and 19 June this year, adding further pressure to an overburdened system.
Petrina Lees, the leader of Uttlesford Council in north-west Essex, said 2,644 postal ballots went out nine days late owing to “human error” during printing.
Southwark Council in south London identified problems with postal votes in the SE22 area, with a spokesperson saying it had “raised this at a senior level with Royal Mail”.
However, a spokesperson for the Royal Mail said that it has “no backlog”, and a specialist elections team is working closely with local authorities to get ballots to voters in time. “Where concerns have been raised, we have investigated and confirmed ballot packs are being delivered as soon as they arrive in our network,” they added.
Over the weekend, SNP leader John Swinney and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said they were worried about voters missing out due to not receiving postal ballots before they fly off on holiday.
The SNP said they were particularly concerned that the combination of postal vote delays and the election clashing with Scottish school holidays would cost them votes.
Downing Street has said Rishi Sunak does not share the concerns that voters could be disenfranchised, and that No 10 was working closely with other agencies to resolve any issues.
Mr Hollinrake criticised Royal Mail for failing to anticipate the demand, saying: “We urge Royal Mail to do all they can to make sure that postal votes get to the right people at the right time, and time is completely of the essence now.
“There’s a resourcing issue. They have recruited extra people and I welcome that but they’ve got to make sure they’ve got the right number of people to deliver the mail at busy times like this.
“It’s not acceptable it’s sat in sorting offices. It needs to be delivered to people’s houses. So they need to put more people on to do that.”
The Electoral Commission says that anyone worried a postal ballot may not reach electoral officers on time can submit the pack by hand at council offices or at any polling station on election day.
It said that after the election it would fully investigate what had happened.
A spokesperson for the Commission said: “Tens of thousands of postal votes were delivered over the weekend. We know local authorities and Royal Mail are working to get the final ones out as soon as possible.
“As is the case at all elections, given the electoral timetable, there is a short window of time for administrators to prepare and dispatch postal votes.
“Anyone who hasn’t yet received their postal ballot pack should request a replacement from their local authority. Voters have the option to hand their postal pack to their polling station on polling day if they are concerned about posting it.
“They can also ask someone to hand their ballot pack in on their behalf. Voters can hand in a maximum of five postal ballots in addition to their own, and will be required to complete a form at the polling station when doing so.
“We recognise the pressures on the postal voting system due to the holiday season. We are continuing to provide advice and guidance to electoral services teams to support them with the postal voting process.
“Following the election, we will undertake research with voters and electoral administrators to understand their experiences at this poll. The administration of postal voting is one of the areas we will look at.”
According to the regulator, a voter can only apply for an emergency proxy if something unexpected prevents them from voting, such as a medical emergency, being away for work, and a lost or stolen voter ID.
Mr Swinney has highlighted “significant reports of people who were trying to vote by post who had applied properly for a postal vote before the deadline of June 19”.
He added that there had been “no thought given to summer school holidays” in Scotland when Mr Sunak called the election. “Those postal ballots have not arrived with people and some of them have now left the country, and they have been disenfranchised because of the timing of the election, which is something I deeply regret,” he told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, on Sky News.
Asked whether the Prime Minister shared Mr Swinney’s concerns, Mr Sunak’s official spokesman told reporters on Monday: “No. We are aware of some concerns around the printing and delivery of postal ballot packs in some local areas.
“We’re working closely with the Electoral Commission, returning officers, Royal Mail and the print suppliers to support the resolution of these issues.
“We understand that the Royal Mail will also be conducting sweeps of their delivery system on polling day to make sure that any ballot packs still in the postal system are identified and passed to returning officers ahead of polls closing.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he was “deeply concerned across the board, because one person disenfranchised is one person too many, regardless of their politics, regardless of who they vote for, because that’s the fundamentals of our democracy.”
He said it was important to “minimise any damage done”, and called on the Electoral Commission, election management boards and Royal Mail to urgently address the issue.
Malcolm Burr, convener of the electoral management board for Scotland, said that for postal voting to be a “viable option”, returning officers “must rely on print suppliers and a predictable and reliable service from Royal Mail”.
He added that councils should take a “consistent” approach to setting up emergency postal vote stations to avoid any confusion.
The LGA called for a review of an already “overburdened” system put under extra pressure by an “unprecedented increase” in people voting by post.
For more information on postal voting visit the Electoral Commission here.
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