POSTAL votes will begin landing on the doorsteps of residents across Redditch over the coming days for the upcoming all-out local election and Police and Crime Commissioner election on May 2.
Residents are advised to keep their eyes peeled for their postal votes and should aim to complete and return them as soon as possible by posting them in any Royal Mail post box.
People who may prefer to hand in their postal votes to the council’s customer services team or at a polling station, should be aware that there are new countrywide regulations coming into effect for this election.
From now on, an individual will only be allowed to hand in a maximum of five postal votes in addition to their own and will need to complete and submit a form which includes declaring whether or not they are a political campaigner.
If an individual does fall under the definition of ‘political campaigner’, they are only allowed to hand in the postal votes for themselves, close relatives, and individuals they have direct care responsibilities for.
Electoral Services Manager, Darren Whitney, said: “We encourage everyone who receives a postal vote for this election to return it to a post box in good time.
“The form which residents are now required to complete if physically handing their postal vote in, requires making a declaration, so if you need to return your own, or anyone else’s postal vote to Customer Services or a polling station please be prepared for it to take longer than it has done in previous years.
“The quickest and easiest option is to return postal votes through the postal service.”
Residents are also reminded that they now need to bring ID with them in order to vote in any election.
