Letters issued to Leeds postal voters of important need to renew their details

Letters are being sent from today to all registered postal voters in Leeds who need to renew their details to be able to continue to vote that way.

New rules introduced by the government's Elections Act 2022 mean postal voters need to renew their application to vote by post every three years. A deadline to do so of January 31 2026 is in place for anyone who applied to vote by post before October 31 2023. Failure to update their details by the January expiry date means voters will have their postal vote option cancelled.

After initially contacting postal voters in March by email, where possible, the remainder of the more than 156,000 registered postal voters in Leeds are to be sent letters by Leeds City Council’s elections team from today with information about what they need to do to complete the process.

The quickest and easiest way to renew a postal vote application is online via reapply for a postal vote online.

As part of the changes introduced by the government, all postal vote applications must contain the applicant's name, address, date of birth, national insurance number and a clear image of their signature.

Their identity will be verified against records held by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). If this check fails, the applicant must provide further evidence of their identity.

If anyone is unable to complete the application online, paper copies of the application form can be downloaded via Apply for a postal vote (paper forms) - GOV.UK.

Electoral Registration Officer and chief executive of Leeds City Council Ed Whiting said:

“It is very important postal voters in Leeds take note of this letter which will be arriving this week, and make sure their details are updated to remain able to vote that way.

“These changes have been brought in nationally by the government. The process only takes a few minutes to do online if you have your details and a clear image of your signature ready. We would encourage all registered postal voters to carry out this process while they remember now in order to avoid any potential problems using their preferred voting method in future elections.”

After a fallow year for local elections in Leeds this year, the next scheduled local government elections in Leeds will be held on Thursday 7 May 2026.

ENDS 

For media enquiries please contact:

Leeds City Council communications and marketing,

Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

Tel: 0113 378 6007