I’ve already voted – but now I’m worried it won’t be counted

Mercifully, my election campaign is over. Last week, I put my “X” in the box and sent my postal vote on its way. Or at least I thought I did. Now it seems that postal voting has become a problem.

Thousands believe their vote won’t be counted in time, their ballots delayed in our notoriously unreliable post; voting packs are still stuck in sorting offices. Those who requested replacement paperwork ought to have received them last week – but many haven’t.

The problem is most critical in parts of Scotland, where the school term has already ended, meaning some voters have already left on their summer holidays. Constituencies from Kent to the Channel Islands have reported “missing” ballots.

Tory minister Maria Caulfield told Sky News that the government is “urgently” investigating why some voters are still waiting on the papers I completed and posted back several days ago. Postal services minister Kevin Hollinrake has been in “direct contact” with the Royal Mail to sort out the hold-up. “Ballot packs are being delivered as soon as they arrive in our network,” the Royal Mail snapped back.

In other words: It’s your fault – not ours.

I confess to having some doubts whenever the Royal Mail puffs out its chest. I made sure I posted my papers early partly because of how spotty the delivery service locally has become. And that’s putting it mildly.

Those in possession of an unposted ballot still have the option to drop it off at your local polling station on Thursday, and I’m beginning to regret not taking that up (as I have on previous occasions). Disabled access can be an issue at some of the local facilities – steps being one example – which is why I have a postal vote in the first place. There is also some red tape to get past when you do it (they make you fill a form out). But a personal delivery is at least a guaranteed delivery.

Issues with postal voting are obviously particularly problematic for those living and working overseas who have to deal with the vagaries of the post-Brexit postal system (and that one is on this government, however much it blusters). It’s not as if they can request a replacement postal ballot pack in person from their local authority, which is an option for domestic po-vos (can we make that our collective noun?). Short of jumping on a plane, that is. As a result, some people have reportedly paid through the nose for special deliveries to ensure their ballots are counted on polling day – for which they must reach the local council by the close of polls, 10pm this Thursday.

I do wonder if easyJet mightn’t be cheaper. In all seriousness, however, postal votes matter. There are a myriad of entirely legitimate reasons why one might want or need to participate in the election by this method, and it is important that the facility is available freely and widely.

Voting is something that should be made as easy as possible. High turn-outs help legitimise results, providing a bulwark against the bad actors keen to bring Trumpian conspiracy theories into this country, surely the worst American import to land on these shores since Black Friday riots at electrical retailers.

The Association of Electoral Administrators has estimated that 1.3m postal votes applications were made between the election being called and the deadline to apply on 19 June. They expect that postal vote numbers will top 10m this year, a 20 per cent increase on 2019. And why not?

For its part, the Electoral Commission has sought to calm frayed nerves by arguing that “the vast majority” of postal papers have been delivered in good order. “We are not aware of any outstanding large-scale issues,” a spokesperson for the watchdog said.

But that still begs the question of how significant the minority is. Is this genuinely a minuscule problem – like, say, the incidence of electoral fraud? (There were 1,462 alleged cases reported to police between 2019 and 2023, of which a tiny 11 led to convictions; the police also issued four cautions.)

It is vital that good data is obtained on the issue of postal votes, and that the extent of this problem – if it is one – is properly investigated. It is quite unconscionable that people who vote by post risk being deprived of their franchise or that this important means of doing so could be picked up and used by conspiracy theorists.

Needless to say, it is particularly important for those of us with disabilities. Our problems, indeed the very fact that we exist in large numbers, have been conspicuous by their absence from debates during the campaign.

If it does prove that sizeable numbers of people have been deprived of their franchise, those found to be at fault need to be stamped, postmarked and sent off to somewhere remote to reflect on their cock-ups.