Moray ballot papers on their way
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BALLOT papers for postal voters in Moray will be arriving on doormats over the next few days ahead of the UK parliamentary election on May 7.
The first issue of 13,358 postal votes are being dispatched to postal voters who registered up to and including April 9.
A further issue of an estimated 900 postal votes is expected on April 27 for all those voters who registered to vote by post between April 10 and the deadline of April 21.
The returning officer for Moray, Mark Palmer, is advising postal voters to make sure they read and follow the instructions carefully before completing and returning their ballot paper.
He said: "Don’t forget to include your date of birth and signature on the postal voting statement. This is required and is checked and without this accompanying statement your paper cannot be counted.
"This statement is kept separate from your ballot paper when the postal votes are processed so your vote is always secret. Follow the instructions in the pack to make sure your vote counts."
Mr Palmer also advised voters to ensure they return their ballot paper promptly, making sure that when they seal their return envelope the returning officer’s return address can be seen through the window of the envelope.
A pictorial guide on how to fill in your postal vote can be found at www.moray.gov.uk/elections and by following links to ‘UK Parliamentary Election’.
Postal ballot papers must be received by the returning officer by 10pm on May 7 at the latest, therefore once completed the ballot paper and postal vote statement must be placed in the envelope and returned to ensure that it is received in good time.
There is still time to register for a proxy vote for the election, where someone that you can trust can cast your vote for you if you are going to be away on May 7. Voters applying for a proxy vote must do so by 5pm on Tuesday, April 28.
More information is available by contacting the Elgin electoral registration office on 01343 541203 or by visiting www.votemoray.org
