Postal Votes

How to Cast your Postal Vote:

Look out for the purple and white envelopes and please take great care with the contents. If you lose or destroy them we cannot issue replacements.

To cast your vote:

1)       Open the outer envelope (please be careful not to mix up yours with anyone else’s in the house)  - there will be

• two envelopes inside marked A and B
• A “one-piece” sheet, with Declaration of Identity, two return labels, and your instructions.
• The ballot paper (take care not to discard this with the covering envelope - if you do, replacements cannot be issued.)

2)       You must sign the declaration of identity. Take care to use your usual signature, and give your correct daet of birth. If these vary from the records you supplied to us previously, your vote will be rejected. This is an anti-fraud security measure.

3)       Vote for not more than one candidate – place your cross in the right hand side box alongside the candidate you prefer.

4)       Put the ballot papers into Grey Envelope A, seal it and then stick Grey label A onto the address panel.

5)       Place the sealed Grey envelope A inside the Purple envelope B, with the signed and witnessed Declaration. Stick Purple label B onto the address panel, and then seal it.

6)       Return all this to the Elections Office at the Town Hall without delay – the postage is pre-paid.

7)       For your vote to count, the papers must be in the Elections Office by “Close of Poll” - 10.00 p.m. on Thursday 1st May.

(You can take the completed papers in their sealed envelope to a polling station within your own electoral area by the same deadline and it will be accepted.  However, you cannot simply take the ballot papers to a station and cast your vote there.– They cannot be legally accepted unless they come back as a full postal vote  package in accordance with the instructions above.)

Regrettably, replacement papers can only be issued if you return all your documents, including the ballot papers, to the Town Hall.

If you have any queries please contact the Elections Hotline 01527 534009, or e.mail elections@redditchbc.gov.uk .