Local election postal voters for the election of a Councillor for Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet are being encouraged to return their completed voting pack as soon as possible to avoid it being caught up in planned Royal Mail strikes.
The strike by Royal Mail workers is set for next Thursday (24th November) – the same day as the by-election. Any postal votes that arrive after 22:00 on polling day won’t be counted.
Postal voting packs have already been sent to electors who are voting by post.
Claire Shand, the Council’s Returning Officer, said:
“Due to the impending strike action, we strongly encourage people to return their postal votes as soon as possible. As strike action is planned to take place on polling day, any votes posted the day prior to polling day will not be received by the Returning Officer by the close of the poll. Legally, postal votes that arrive back to us after 10pm on polling day, unfortunately, won’t be able to be counted.
“Anyone unable to return their postal vote before Thursday 24 November for whatever reason can also hand in their completed postal vote pack on polling day between 7am and 10pm at our polling stations. They can also drop it into our council offices at County Hall, High Street, Newport at any time up until 10pm on polling day.”
The polling stations open for the Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet by-election on Thursday 24th November are:
- Wilberforce Hall, North Street, Brighstone
- Seely Hall, Brook
- Calbourne Recreation Centre, School Lane, Calbourne
- Porchfield Village Hall, Porchfield
- Newbridge Community Centre, Main Road, Newbridge
- Shalfleet Village Hall, Church Lane, Shalfleet
Voters looking for more information should contact Electoral Services by emailing [email protected] or visiting www.iow.gov.uk/Council/Elections/Elections-Management/Contact.
