Postal voters urged to make their vote count

Issued on behalf of the Returning Officer for Highland

As postal packs continue to be dispatched for the UK General Election, postal voters are being reminded to make sure they return them in time. They are also advised to read the instructions carefully when completing their pack to ensure their vote counts.

When voting by post, voters need to fill in a form, the postal voting statement, which accompanies the ballot paper, whereby your signature and date of birth must be provided. As a security measure, these are matched against the signature and date of birth the voter provided when they applied to vote by post. It is important that this signature conforms to the signature that you gave at the time of your postal application.

To assist postal voters, The Highland Council has made a short video explaining how to correctly complete and return your postal ballot.  

The Returning Officer for Highland, Derek Brown said: “Postal voting is growing in popularity as a convenient way for voters to have their say and with summer holidays looming, we want to make sure people return their envelopes in plenty of time.

“At every election, some postal votes are invalid, because the voter either forgets to sign the postal voting statement or writes down the date on which they filled it in, rather than their date of birth.

“I would urge postal voters to take the time to read the guidance enclosed in the postal pack then mark your vote with an X on the ballot paper, complete the postal voting statement and put these in the envelopes provided as soon as possible.”

Postal voters need to make sure they return their postal vote before polls close at 10pm on Thursday 4 July. Any registered postal voters who have not yet received their postal ballot pack should phone the Highland election helpline on 01349 886657.

Anyone who has requested a postal vote will not be able to vote in person at a polling station. However, they will be able to hand their complete postal pack into any polling station within Highland between 7am and 10pm on Thursday 4 July if they are unable to post it in time.

To find out who is standing in the two Highland constituencies, visit www.highland.gov.uk/ge2024

The votes will be counted overnight at the Highland Football Academy in Dingwall. Live coverage from the count, including the two declarations will be available on YouTube and also on the Council’s social media channels @HighlandCouncil.

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