faqsforpostalvoterejectionnotices-electoralcommission.docVIP

FAQs: postal vote identifier rejection notices at the May 2016 elections The following are designed to support you with responding to a range of potential questions you may receive from electors following the sending out of postal vote identifier rejection notices after the May 2016 elections. It will be for you to decide which of these questions you would like elections staff to answer and which ones you are happy for others, such as call centre staff, to provide a response to. 1. I know I completed my postal vote as instructed – my postal vote has been wrongly rejected By law, the Returning Officer has to check the signature and date of birth on every returned postal voting statement and determine whether they match those held on record. Where they do not, or where they are not provided, the Returning Officer must reject the postal vote. The Returning Officer’s decision is final. To avoid losing out in future: Where the rejection is a result of the signature not matching and the elector is on the absent voters’ list for the EU referendum Where the rejection is a result of the signature not matching and the elector is not on the absent voters’ list for the EU referendum Where the rejection is a result of the date of birth not matching Where the rejection is a result of the date of birth and/or signature being absent URGENT: A referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union will take place on 23 June. You may already have, or will shortly, receive your postal vote for the referendum. Make sure that you complete the signature refresh form that has been sent to you and provide a fresh copy of your signature immediately, otherwise your vote for the referendum could also be rejected due to a signature mismatch. Make sure that you complete the signature refresh form that has been sent to you and provide a fresh copy of your signature by no later than [insert date]. Make sure that next time you include your date of birth, in the correct format, on the posta