UK ex-pats intending to vote by post for May 7th elections

[LexLoofah]

Have you voted by post from overseas before? This is my first time and worried I won't be able to return it in time as I am told the cards are only being posted on the 20th and post to where I am can take 2 weeks or more so that might give me a week to complete and return, by courier I suppose to be sure.

I would have done a proxy but still not decided who to vote for and not sure who I would have nominated as a proxy anyway.

So I guess I had better be ready with my decision on the day it arrives!

Wib The system is being run by people who have no control over the system, and that's the problem. Unrealistic deadlines are being set centrally and electoral staff are doing their absolute utmost to run the election. The system will never be perfect and will constantly be tweaked. Hopefully, you'll take different action at the next election, which could be sooner than you think.

So, one local authority has all its senior managers from one department working on the bins over the Easter weekend. Are you therefore implying that a large majority of local authority staff save up work for the weekend so they can claim overtime? Finances are extremely tight in local authorities. Is this how you think they are run?

No one at Richmond upon Thames has done their utmost, unfortunately, Scholes.

And hopefully I won't have to take different action at the next election - hopefully by that point the idiots who failed to send out my ballot paper on time and have consequently prevented me from voting will no longer be employed. It's absolutely incredible (though unfortunately entirely believable) that a local authority's complete and utter mismanagement of the distribution of overseas voters' ballots has led to many expats being denied their democratic right to vote next week. Though seemingly in your eyes, the fault is all mine as I'm overseas . I don't see why the onus should even be on me to take different action - I don't have a crystal ball to tell me that despite doing everything requested of me, the council won't send out papers in a timely manner.

And yes, I will bite re your final point. I haven't come across one LA that has been efficiently run. I've been told to work more slowly on more than one occasion! All bar one reply to my emails to Richmond have been sent on a Saturday. Make of that what you will.

My sympathies, wib. But do consider a proxy next time round, or a postal proxy. Perhaps Serco or a similar company could come in and take over electoral services and all other local authority services, and all will be fine and dandy.

Mine has arrived today, too late for the Saturday post. Apparently it was posted on the 20th so has taken nearly two weeks to come 150 miles, as the crow flies.
Impressive.

It's a joke, isn't it? I emailed Richmond and asked them just how they thought a ballot posted on April 29th with Royal Mail could get to the US and back in time for the official count. Obviously no reply. Even one of their own admin team told me their guidelines said April 13th was the latest possible in terms of time taken for postage. It's as though they believe they've done their job correctly by sending me a ballot. The fact it's now entirely useless as it will arrive so late seems irrelevant.

I rang my former LA to see when it had been posted and they were very apologetic and said it had gone out on the 20th. Normally stuff arrives in three or four days at most so goodness knows where it has been. I shall drive to the nearest big town (only 15km from the Channel) and post it on Monday. Mind you my vote won't make any difference as the candidate I didn't vote for has a huge majority!

I received my papers today in New Zealand, post marked the 29th April. So that was a waste of 2.25 gbp by Cambridge Council.

Anyone any idea who we should contact to 'complain'? It all seems pointless to me.

It's not Cambridge Council who set the deadlines they have to work to. Try the Government.

The Electoral Commission would also welcome the feedback.

Exactly the same experience Kapai. My ballot was posted by Richmond on the 29th and arrived yesterday afternoon. Unless I get on a plane to Heathrow tonight and deliver it by hand in person, it's not going to get there. If they'd agree to refund the costs of a last minute flight, given their obvious error, I'd be quite tempted.

Scholes has been defending the 'system', such as it is, on both this and another thread currently running. To my mind, it's indefensible that many expats are being denied their right to vote by short sighted local authorities who can't get their arses into gear. Expat friends had their ballot papers on time, even my husband (whose docs were sent in with mine) had a ballot arrive earlier than me and so was able to return everything on time.

I finally received a half hearted apology from Richmond when I attempted to complain - 'We're sorry you feel...' No actual apology for the fact they actively posted something they knew had no chance of arriving and being sent back in time for tomorrow.

The Electoral Commission would also welcome the feedback

That's nice.

Most likely they'll file away that "feedback" and do fuck all about it.

I'd been told by other expats here not to bother with postal voting because in their experience ballot papers NEVER arrive in time. So this is obviously not the first election where this has been a problem. I wonder what sort of "feedback" the EC received on previous occassions, and what action they have taken?

I'm not defendng the "system", I'm defending the local authoities who have to implement the system with impossible deadlines beyond their control.

Having had this experience on this occasion, and as you say, Mrsfrumble, you'd been advised by other ex-pats not to bother with a postal vote, will anyone consider a proxy, or a postal proxy if you have no-one to ask in the area you're registered in to act as a proxy? I'd be happy to do it for you.

Impossible deadlines? Hmm... Impossible for some LAs and not others more like. (Impossible for those that are disorganised, maybe?)

Come back to me with your views when you know more than half the story.

Evening all, can we remind everyone of the MN guidelines please?

Unfortunately by the time I realised that all the people I could have asked to vote by proxy in person for me were not going to be in the area themselves on Election Day, it was too late to apply for a postal proxy vote.

This was my fault, I accept, but I'm annoyed on behalf of the posters who were misled in to thinking that postal voting from overseas was a viable option. If the EC are setting "impossible deadlines" why doesn't everyone involved just accept that it doesn't work and scrap the option of expats voting by post? It's clearly not a new problem, so why continue the charade every election and waste everyone's time and money by processing and posting ballot papers which will never get used?

Precisely MrsFrumble! Couldn't agree more.

I have never received my postal ballot form,I live in France. I didn't consider voting by proxy because in 2010 it arrived with 5 days to return it so automatically presumed it would be the same this year. Feel annoyed with my ex council as they should have either said the dates when the form would be posted, or pushed for proxy voting, this would have been easy enough as I received two emails and a letter from them.

I think it is a really sorry state of affairs. By chance I got mine posted on time as co-incided with a trip back but I am really annoyed and frustrated on behalf of the other ex-pats who did not get to do the same and thus denied their right.

Feedback already sent to the EC but expecting neither a reply nor a change, it is lip service pure and simple.

This was my first overseas vote. I registered back in February. The Assistant Registration Officer emailed me to confirm a couple of things and when I telephoned her, she took the time to talk me through dispatch dates and the process in general. My papers were dispatched on Monday 27 April and arrived on Wednesday 29 April. They were dispatched back to the UK the next day. I'm in Germany, which isn't a great distance from the UK and the German post is über-quick, which may have helped. I appreciate that most overseas voters weren't as fortunate with the dates and papers, so am even more grateful that I've been able to take part in this election.

This is the second GE I have been unable to vote in, as the postal vote papers don't arrive in time.

I intend to go back to the UK at some point, I own property and have investments there, I have family and friends there. I can't vote where I am as I am not a citizen - why shouldn't I have a say in the government of my permanent home?

There's absolutely no way my vote got back in time, my Christmas cards (posted in Nov) didn't arrive until Easter. The mantra of the Middle East is inshallah after all.

I had an apology from Cambridge Council stating that my papers were posted on the 27th- although they were postmarked the 29th.

Hopefully my complaint will at least go forward to the EC who may adjust their deadlines.