Row over delays in distributing election booklet
EAST Midlands Mayor election booklets, which cost candidates thousands of pounds to appear in, were either not received or received hours after polls opened in parts of Derbyshire.
The booklet issued by the East Midlands Combined County Authority, to go to all households in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, did not reach all of its intended doorsteps, the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands.
Mel Barrett, the returning officer for the new combined authority, along with Nottingham City Council, was responsible for issuing the booklets, which were a mandatory requirement of the new super council.
Other Derbyshire residents received their booklets this week, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the new combined authority said they were aware of distribution delays but had ensured all registered households would receive a booklet “ahead of the election”.
Candidates who wanted to have a leaflet in the booklet had to pay £5,000 apiece to have one included, with two candidates – independent Cllr
Matt Relf and Green Party candidate Cllr Frank Adlington-stringer – crowdsourcing this money from their supporters. Liberal Democrat candidate Helen Tamblyn-saville was the only candidate out of the six in the running for East Midlands Mayor not to have a leaflet in the booklet.
Cllr Matt Relf, an Ashfield district councillor, said: “It is absolutely disgusting that Nottingham City Council have failed in their duty to properly inform voters about this election. This will have undoubtedly affected the result.”
Cllr Amy Wheelton, an independent on South Derbyshire District Council, said: “Loads of residents in Walton and the surrounding villages never got the mayor booklet until the afternoon (on May 2). Mine came at 2pm in the post and I had voted at 11am. A lot of folk have been complaining to me, they should have been here a month ago.”
Candidates had until Friday, April 5 to submit their leaflets for the booklet. The booklet, in present tense, mentions: “The first issue of postal ballot packs will be sent out on Wednesday, April 17. The second issue of postal ballot packs will be sent out on Monday, April 22.” It details that proxy vote applications must be received by 5pm on Wednesday, April 24.
Applications for a free voter authority certificate – in lieu of a photo ID, required to vote – had a deadline of Wednesday, April 24. Prospective voters unaware of these deadlines will have missed all of the opportunities to vote – short of voting in person with a regular photo ID. The election for an East Midlands Mayor was forecast to cost up to £4m.
A spokesperson for the combined authority’s returning officer, Mr Barrett, earlier this week confirmed 1.6 million people had received an information booklet about the new authority and the candidates standing for election. They added: “We were made aware late last week that the dispatch timelines for some of the booklets hadn’t been met by our distributor. We immediately took steps to ensure that the remaining booklets are delivered ahead of the election on Thursday.
“In addition, every single voter was sent a polling card before the booklet, which informed voters that they could find information about candidates standing in the election on the East Midlands Devolution website.”