Still 45,000 Leeds postal voters needing to renew their details by end of January or have their voting option cancelled

There are still approximately 45,000 postal voters in Leeds who have not yet renewed their details and will have their voting option cancelled unless they do so by the end of this month.

Leeds City Council is issuing a final urgent reminder to any postal voters who have not yet completed the reapplication process to so before January 31 to avoid losing that option.

The need to reapply is a requirement of the government's Elections Act 2022, which sees postal voters needing to renew their postal vote application every three years, with an identity check now included as part of the process.

All registered postal voters in the city who applied to vote by that method before January 30 2024 need to renew their details by the end the month or they will lose their postal vote option and have to vote in-person at a polling station at future elections, beginning with the local elections taking place in Leeds on Thursday 7 May.

Leeds has the highest number of registered postal voters of any comparable city in the country at around 160,000 voters, and the council’s elections team has already processed 115,000 applications with 45,000 remaining outstanding. Many of those outstanding may be voters who are choosing to switch to in-person voting or are not intending to vote, but for those who wish to continue voting by post they need to act now.

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

“We are now at the final chance stage for postal voters who wish to continue voting that way to renew their details by the end of this month or their postal vote option will be cancelled.

“The response in Leeds has been impressive, but we still have a significant number of people outstanding. If you would like to continue voting by post this May or any future elections and haven’t come back to us, you do need to complete the process now. We want as many people as possible to vote and to do so by their preferred voting method, so we encourage all postal voters who have not done so yet to give this their urgent attention.”

The quickest and easiest way to complete the process is online via apply 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 have been sent by post, but can also be downloaded via Apply for a postal vote (paper forms) - GOV.UK.

Anyone who no longer requires a postal vote should contact the Electoral Registration Officer immediately. More information can be found at Postal voting | Leeds.gov.uk. 

ENDS

 For media enquiries please contact:

Leeds City Council communications and marketing,

Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

Tel: 0113 378 6007