Postal votes sent out to people in Exeter

Published: 18 April 2024

People in Exeter who applied for a postal vote in next month’s elections are set to receive these over the next few days.

Exeter City Council is sending out postal votes on Thursday 18 April to everyone who has applied – 15,000 in total.

People will need to complete the necessary paperwork before returning the envelope to the City Council before the day of the elections.

Elections for the City Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will take place on Thursday 2 May, with polling stations open across the city from 7am to 10pm.

Although the vast majority of people will return their postal vote by Royal Mail, it is possible to return a postal vote to a polling station on the day of the elections. However new regulations – introduced as part of the Elections Act 2022 - have now come into force regarding this.

The rules relate to the handling and delivery of postal votes by hand and not via Royal Mail.

Any person who applies for and receives a postal vote can only hand their postal vote in to an authorised person at a polling station and they will be required to complete a form in the process.

Postal votes cannot be posted through the letterbox at the Civic Centre, although they can be handed over to an authorised person at reception during opening hours.

They will be limited to handing in the postal votes of five other persons.

If the form is not completed, then the postal vote (and any others being handing in) will be rejected.

More information is available on the City Council website at https://exeter.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/elections-and-voting/electoral-services/postal-votes/