Postal Voters Reminder on Return of Votes

Postal voters for the forthcoming General Election are being reminded of a key change to the process for returning their vote.

Postal voting packs should be arriving on Orkney and Shetland door mats over the next few days.

Packs can be returned as usual through the Royal Mail - but if voters wish to return them direct to local authority customer service points or to a polling station on polling day, then they must be handed directly to a member of staff and then accompanied by a signed form.

Changes to the law mean any postal vote not returned via Royal Mail must be accompanied by a return form. Any postal votes which are hand delivered without the form being completed will be rejected – and your vote will not be counted.

Postal votes must not be placed in Council office letter boxes or at the Electoral Registration Office where you may have set up your postal vote – otherwise they will be rejected and your vote not counted.

They can be returned during opening hours to the One Stop Shop in Kirkwall, the Warehouse Buildings in Stromness and 8 North Ness in Lerwick - but only at times when a member of staff is available to receive the vote and to fill in the form.

Votes can also be returned to any polling station on polling day, again completing the necessary form with polling station staff.

In addition, you can only hand in your own postal vote, and those of up to five others.

Postal votes must reach the Returning Officer by 10pm on polling day.

Another key change this year is that to vote in person at a polling station, voters are now required to show valid photographic ID. The full list of acceptable voter ID is available on the Electoral Commission’s website, at the Electoral Commission website and includes:

• passport
• driving licence
• Saltire card
• Young Scot card

If voters do not have any approved photographic ID, they can apply to their local Electoral Registration Office for a Voter Authority Certificate or online at www.voter-authority-certificate.service.gov.uk - but they must do this by 5:00pm on Wednesday 26 June.

Whilst the deadline has now passed for ensuring you are registered to vote or applying for a postal vote you can still register for a proxy vote – where someone votes on your behalf at a polling station – up to 5pm Wednesday 26 June at Apply for a proxy vote - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

For the purposes of UK Parliamentary Elections, Orkney and Shetland form one constituency returning 1 MP after the vote.

Polling stations will be open across both local authority areas from 7:00am to 10:00pm on July 4 – with the counting of votes then taking place at Kirkwall Grammar School, Kirkwall, Orkney overnight, with a result expected on the morning of July 5.

The full list of candidates standing in the Orkney and Shetland Constituency for the UK General Election was published on 7 June.

Voters will have a choice of six candidates, namely:

• ARMITAGE, Alex – Scottish Greens
• CARMICHAEL, Alistair – Scottish Liberal Democrats
• LESLIE, Robert – Scottish National Party (SNP)
• PAINTER, Shane – Scottish Conservative and Unionist
• SAVAGE, Conor – Scottish Labour Party
• SMITH, Robert – Reform UK

Proxy applications queries and Voter ID applications should be directed to the Electoral Registration Office in Orkney at 8 Broad Street, Kirkwall. Tel: 01856 876222, email ero@orkney.gov.uk or to the Electoral Registration Office in Shetland at 20 Commercial Road, Lerwick, ZE1 0LX Tel: 01595 745700, email ero@shetland.gov.uk