As postal voting packs start dropping through letter boxes across the Aberavon and Neath constituencies, postal voters are being reminded to read the instructions carefully when casting their vote otherwise their vote might not be counted.
When voting by post, voters need to fill in a form accompanying their ballot paper, giving their signature and date of birth. As a security measure, these are matched against the signature and date of birth the voter provided when they applied to vote by post.
Constituency Returning Officer, Steve Phillips says, “Postal voting is growing in popularity as a convenient way to have your say. But at every election, some postal votes are invalid, because the voter either forgot to sign the postal voting statement or wrote down the date they filled it in, rather than their date of birth.
“We’ve provided a guide to completing your postal ballot in your pack, so please do take the time to read it and provide the right information so that we can count your vote. We need to receive your postal votes before polls close at 10pm on 5 May.”
Electors who need help to vote, make a mistake or are simply not sure what to do can get independent advice by contacting the helpline shown below.
The Electoral Commission, the independent election and referendum watchdog, has sent every household in Wales an information booklet on the election and the referendum. Anyone who has not received a booklet can download it at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk.
For more information contact 01639 763330.
