‘We’ve been denied right to vote,’ complain expats hit by postal ballot delays
LARGE numbers of expatriates have been left unable to vote in today’s European elections because of delays in the issue of postal voting forms.
Britons living overseas say they have been disenfranchised after receiving their ballot papers too late to return them by the voting deadline.
It is feared the numbers affected could run into the thousands in France and Spain alone.
However, the Electoral Commission said it would not be launching an inquiry into the problems because the matter was not its responsibility.
The postal vote chaos came after dozens of councils hired the printing and dispatch firm Adare, rather than the Royal Mail, to deliver ballot papers to British voters in continental Europe.
British nationals who live overseas are eligible to vote in their original European Parliament constituencies if they have registered in time.
The Daily Telegraph understands several councils who hired Adare are in predominantly Brexit-supporting parts of the UK, including Barnsley, Doncaster, Calderdale and Northumberland.
Other areas where overseas voters have reported delays include Gloucester, Darlington, Canterbury, Monmouthshire and Newcastle upon Tyne.
It is feared that thousands of voters in France and Spain could be hit, based on the number of overseas-based voters on the UK electoral register, which in 2017 totalled more than 285,000. Both Leave and Remain camps claim they will suffer as a result of the delays.
Joy Elise Allen, 64, who lives in Nouvelle-aquitaine, France, told The Daily Telegraph she received her ballot form from Barnsley Council for the Yorkshire and the Humber constituency last Friday, too late to return it for today’s vote.
Ms Allen, who is in contact with several other Britons in the same position, said: “We’ve been denied the right to vote just so the council could use a cheap bulk mail carrier. We’re really angry about the situation.”
Stuart Bradley, who lives in the Loire region of France, said: “Despite registering in plenty of time, my postal ballot and my wife’s arrived here yesterday [Monday]. Too late to post now.”
The Liberal Democrats are considering making an official complaint about the delays, and possibly taking legal action against returning officers. A source for the party said: “It is incredibly
important that everyone gets their say in these crucial elections. We would encourage people to complain.”
Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter, said: “It is an absolute scandal. The disenfranchising of such a large group of people in any other democracy would cause uproar.”
The Electoral Commission, which has previously recommended postal voting reforms including voters being able to print out their ballots online, said it had no legal basis for investigating delays in postal votes which is the responsibility of the local authority in the electoral area in question.
Adare defended its operation, saying: “Quality and on-time delivery is of the utmost importance to us. Adare SEC is pleased to confirm that all postal ballot papers were produced and released into the postal system in line with election and council timetables.”
However, it refused to say how many individual ballot papers it had dispatched overseas for the European elections or estimate how many of these had been delayed.