‘Major review’ required after postal vote delayed in Scotland

There are calls for a review of Scotland’s postal voting system after voters reported not receiving their ballots just a week before polling day.

The Electoral Management Board for Scotland (EMB) said there were “many difficulties being experienced in the delivery of postal votes” across the country.

BBC Scotland has spoken to some people who are worried they haven’t received their postal votes – including holidaymakers who won’t be home until after the election.

Royal Mail said it had investigated concerns about postal voice delivery in some areas but found no problems.

The EMB co-ordinates and supports the work of returning officers and other local authority officials in the conduct of council elections, Scotland and England.

EMB Scotland convenor Malcolm Burr said electoral return officers needed reliable print supplies and a “predictable and reliable” service from Royal Mail to make postal voting a “viable option”.

He said: “There have been and continue to be issues with suppliers and Royal Mail across Scotland which the electoral community is dealing with at its best.

“It should be noted that the legal and logistical timetable for this election is very tight, exacerbated in Scotland by the holidays starting in many areas this weekend.”

Mr Burr said more than 25% of voters now chose to vote by post.

“EMB believes that there is a need for a major review of capacity and systems after the elections.

“We are very aware that some voters remain without a ballot at this time and we are working with returning officers, suppliers and Royal Mail to expedite delivery as quickly as possible,” he said.

The UK deadline to apply for a postal vote is June 19. Anyone who is a long-term postal voter or who applied before June 7 should have received their voting pack last week.

Others who apply after that date can expect to be part of the second submission of forms.

However, this has not been widely advertised and has been causing confusion for some voters who have seen friends or family with ballot papers already.

The entire voting package will arrive on Saturday but with school holidays now underway in parts of Scotland some families may be out of the country.

Hannah Hellis from Rutherglen received a postal vote before flying out for a family holiday but her husband Kristian did not.

Kristian told BBC Scotland news that he registered to vote about two weeks ago and was told his documents would arrive within a week.

But when the family flew to Italy for two and a half weeks on Thursday, the ballots still hadn’t arrived.

“It’s disappointing to lose, especially in this election,” he said.

“I think announcing the election at the start of the Scottish school holidays is a disservice to a lot of people here and it’s a shame because it’s such a big election with everything that’s going on.

“I think it’s funny that my voting documents will arrive today after I leave.”

Karry Bicket from Troon said she was “disappointed” she would miss the chance to vote because her pack had not arrived before the holidays.

“We didn’t receive anything, my wife didn’t either.

“I think it’s strange because today is a week, but we haven’t received anything so we can’t vote,” he said.

He flew to the Dominican Republic on Thursday, and will arrive back in Scotland on Friday, after the polls close.

Others say there is no problem, with voting packages arriving in the past few days.

Lisa McColligan from Gartcosh in North Lanarkshire said she had no problem registering to use the postal vote for the first time.

“We came over pretty much immediately. We were quite surprised because we were worried because when the election was announced, we knew we didn’t have a lot of time,” she said on the way to Florida for a family wedding.

“We did it differently this time because we knew we were going to be out of the country. We registered a few weeks ago, made sure we had a postal vote, so everything was done.”

Royal Mail said it had investigated concerns about postal voice delivery in some areas but found no problems.

A spokesman said: “We have a specialist election team who plan every aspect of the election delivery program and work closely with local authorities to ensure everything runs smoothly.”

The Electoral Commission said local authorities were working to send ballot forms to postal voters “as quickly as possible”.

A spokesman said: “Anyone who applied before the deadline on Wednesday 19 June and has had their application approved will receive a ballot pack in the post.

“Some people may have accepted this.”