Changes to how you vote by post - all you need to know

Information for voters

The Government's Election Act 2022 has introduced a number of changes to how you apply for a postal vote and how you return your postal vote.

How to apply for a postal vote

You can now apply for a postal vote online. It's the quick and easy way to make sure you're ready to vote.

If you cannot apply online, contact elections@rugby.gov.uk and we can help.

The changes include a requirement to reapply for a postal vote after three years. Voters who held a postal vote before 31 October 2023 do not need to reapply before 31 January 2026. The council notifies postal voters before votes expire.

How to return your postal vote

You can return your postal vote in the pre-paid envelope included via the Royal Mail. Make sure you post your vote in plenty of time before polling day.

Anyone hand delivering postal votes at the Town Hall or a polling station MUST complete and sign a postal vote return form provided by an authorised officer.

Postal vote return forms require you to provide your name and address, and confirm:

you're handing in your own postal vote and/or other people's postal votes
whether you're a political campaigner
the number of postal votes you have handed in

The number of postal votes you can hand deliver has now been limited to your postal vote and no more than five more postal/postal proxy votes.

IMPORTANT - if you fail to complete your postal vote return form with all the relevant information, or to the authorised officer's satisfaction, we have to reject your vote/s.

Rejected postal votes cannot be included in the election count.

If you fail to complete a postal vote return form (or fail to provide all relevant information to the satisfaction of the authorised officer) when you hand deliver your vote, you'll be contacted by the Election Registration Officer after the election, explaining the reasons for rejecting your vote.

Secrecy requirements now extended to postal voting

The new rules have extended the secrecy requirements at polling stations to postal votes.

The change means it has become an offence to try and find out how someone has voted when completing a postal vote, or to communicate how a postal voter has voted.

Anyone found guilty of breaching the secrecy requirements could face a fine or up to six months in prison.

Information for election candidates and agents

Ban on political campaigners handling postal votes

The Government's Election Act 2022 placed a ban on political campaigners handling postal votes from polls taking place on 2 May 2024 onwards.

Only the following exceptions apply:

it's the political campaigner's own postal vote
it's the postal vote of the political campaigner's close family (individual's spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild)
the political campaigner handles postal votes as part of day-to-day duties (eg works for the Royal Mail)

Definition of a political campaigner

The Government's legislation defines a political campaigner as:

a) a candidate at the election
b) an election agent of a candidate at the election
c) a sub-agent of an election agent at the election
d) employed or engaged for the purposes of a person's activities as an election candidate
e) a member of a registered political party and carries out activities designed to promote a particular outcome at the election (including displaying posters, distributing leaflets, posting promotional material on social media accounts, and canvassing)
f) employed or engaged by a political party in connection with the party's political activities
g) employed or engaged by a person within paragraphs (a) to (f) to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election
h) employed or engaged by a person within paragraph (g) to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome at the election

If found guilty of handling postal votes as a political campaigner, you could face a fine or up to two years in prison.

Please note - the ban does not apply to handling postal vote applications.

However, political campaigners should follow the guidance issued by the Electoral Commission for handling postal vote application forms.