General Election: What to do if your postal ballot has not arrived

Last week, the Electoral Management Board for Scotland said there had been "many difficulties experienced with the delivery of postal votes" across the country.

Most of those reporting difficulties applied for a postal vote after June 7 but ahead of the June 19 deadline.

It is particularly a problem in Scotland as most schools are now closed for the summer and many families are away on holiday.

The Herald approached all 32 of Scotland's councils asking what voters should do if they had not receiced their postal ballot. We will add their responses to this page when we receive them. 

Glasgow

Contact our election office and ask for a replacement. We can send this, but it is likely the better option would be to come and collect it. You can take it away, but we will also provide a private space in which you can complete it and hand it back there and then, if you prefer.

This is the normal procedure and something we do at every election.

Friday was the first day when it was legal for us to issue replacements – and, although postal packs applied for at the second deadline were only just becoming due for delivery, we endeavoured to offer replacements where people had travel issues, as we would if the pack was missing or late.

Edinburgh

The council says their emergency facility is open until polling day from 9am-5pm. Anyone who hasn’t got their postal vote today should come to the City Chambers with photo ID where a replacement pack will be issued. Same applies to anyone due to go on holiday before polling day who hasn’t received theirs.

North Lanarkshire Council

We are aware that, of more than 45,000 postal voters, a small number have not received their postal voting pack. Where this is the case, we are able to issue a replacement. However, it is essential that anyone in this position contacts the election office on 01698 302058, where staff will be able to advise the best course of action for each individual."
The returning officer and his staff will work with the Electoral Management Board for Scotland and the Electoral Commission in any review of arrangements following the election.

East Renfrewshire

Can you say what residents should do if they haven't yet received their postal ballot packs? 

Phone our election office on 0141 577 3033

What they can do if they are due to go on holiday?

They can come to our Eastwood HQ if already registered to vote by post, receive a replacement pack and return their postal vote there and then. You must bring photographic ID.

 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 

We have encouraged any residents who have not received their postal ballot pack to contact our elections team to arrange the collection of replacement postal ballot packs. Where necessary postal packs can be handed in at polling stations on 4 July.

Malcolm Burr, Chief Executive of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has called for a major review of capacity and systems both in his capacity as Returning Officer for the Western Isles and Convener of the Electoral Management Board of Scotland.

Highland

Royal mail have confirmed that all packs for the Highlands have been delivered.

We have had buildings in two locations open Saturday and Sunday for the issuing of replacement votes and for people to hand in their completed postal ballots.

From today we are doing this in more locations across the Highlands. Details here.

We have messages running on social media to make everyone aware of where they can go to get a replacement vote or hand in postal votes.  They can also return postal votes on Thursday between 7am – 10pm to any polling station within their constituency.

North Ayrshire

It is expected that those who registered for a postal vote after 10th June will have received their postal packs on Friday, June 28, or Saturday, June 29.  

If packs are not received after the mail delivery on Monday, they should contact the election office on 01294 324729 to enable us to issue a replacement postal voting pack to them. We are keeping in contact with Royal Mail to ensure that any issues are resolved.

Shetland Islands

We are aware of a small number of voters who are still waiting to receive their packs.  We are assured that local delivery staff are working hard to prioritise and deliver packs as quickly as possible, but if any of these postal voters have not received their postal vote pack by Monday 1 July, they should contact the local elections office. 

Lost or undelivered postal votes can be replaced by the Returning Officer – with replacement packs available from 1 July.   Voters can attend the Council Offices in Kirkwall and Lerwick with ID for a pack to be reissued.

We want everyone entitled to vote to have their vote counted. We would encourage all those with a postal vote to complete and return this as soon as possible - remembering that any votes returned to Council offices or at a polling station must be accompanied by a postal vote return form or they will be rejected and not counted.

Fife

Fife House will be open for members of the public to attend to have replacements issued right up until the deadline of 5pm on the day of poll. It is helpful if they could email us in advance and we will give them a time to collect their replacement packs to avoid waits, although walk in is possible but we may not be able to issue a pack immediately.

Stirling

As a result of the delays nationally to distribute postal votes, we have advised residents through our website and social channels that anyone who has not received their postal voting pack through the post has been able to come into Council HQ, Old Viewforth, between 9am and 5pm on normal working days from Friday 28th June until Thursday July 4th July to collect a replacement postal vote, which they can complete and hand in to us.

Midlothian

If you have your postal pack:

If you would rather hand in your postal vote than put it in the mail, then come to the reception in our council offices at Midlothian House, 40-46 Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith, between 9am and 5pm Monday to Wednesday and 6am to 10pm on Thursday 4 July. You will be asked to fill in a form prior to leaving your vote.  

If you do not have a postal pack:

If you have not yet received your postal voting pack, you can apply for a replacement between now and 5pm on Thursday 4 July by: 

•    Emailing elections@midlothian.gov.uk 
•    or calling 0131 271 3384  

You will be asked to come into Midlothian House, 40-46 Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith, EH22 1DN, to collect your pack. Please bring identification with your home address on it.  We will also have a polling booth set up in reception where you can complete your postal vote in privacy and you can then leave the pack with reception, after filling in the form.

Falkirk

If a resident’s postal vote has not arrived, it is possible to issue a replacement pack.  For voters in Falkirk constituency they should contact the Council.  Voters in the Alloa and Grangemouth constituency should contact Clackmannanshire Council. 

Voters in the Bathgate and Linlithgow constituency (Bo’ness and Blackness) should contact West Lothian Council.   The replacement postal pack can be issued by the Falkirk postals team for Alloa and Grangemouth and Bathgate and Linlithgow voters but only after Clackmannanshire or West Lothian have agreed.

East Lothian

There are around 20,000 people who successfully applied for a postal vote in the ‘Lothian East’ constituency. We do expect that the vast majority of people will have received their postal vote before the weekend.

"Meadowmill Sports Centre was opened over the weekend - for anyone going away on holiday over the weekend or on Monday who had not received their postal vote - to collect a replacement paper.

44 replacement papers have been issued since Saturday. 59% of postal votes have already been returned. We would advise any residents with enquiries to contact our Elections Office via the contact details on the council website.

Perth 

We’re aware that, in line with the experience across Scotland, a number of residents in Perth and Kinross are reporting that they have not received their postal votes.

Unfortunately, there have been ongoing issues with both suppliers and Royal Mail nationally and we welcome the Electoral Management Board’s agreement that a comprehensive review of capacity and systems is necessary after the election.

In the meantime, given the tight timescale, we have been engaging with Royal Mail locally who have assured us that they are focussing efforts on clearing the backlog of deliveries and we are hopeful that residents still waiting for a postal vote will receive this in the coming days.

Any resident who have applied for a postal vote for the Perth and Kinross-shire Constituency who still hasn’t received a pack by Monday 1 July 2024 should contact elections@pkc.gov.uk.

Dundee

Anyone in Dundee Central who has not received a postal pack by Monday 1st July can contact the Elections Office by email ero@dundeecity.gov.uk or telephone 01382 434444 for advice. 
 
We would ask that voters return their postal vote as soon as possible, through either, Royal Mail, our customer services team who are in the Box Office, City Square between 9am and 5pm Monday 1 July to Wednesday 3 July, or a polling station on polling day (Thursday 4 July) up to 10pm.

East Dunbartonshire

East Dunbartonshire Council has arrangements in place to deal with late and replacement postal vote packs for the Mid Dunbartonshire constituency.

These arrangements will ensure that postal vote packs will be available to those voters whose packs have not yet been issued due to either late registration, or where voters have contacted the Council advising that they are leaving the country imminently and have not yet received their postal vote. 

Replacement postal vote packs can be collected at the Council’s headquarters and in some instances can be hand delivered.

Over the weekend we hand-delivered replacement packs to those experiencing the above, and similar arrangements will be in place this week to support voters who do not receive their postal vote pack.

Anyone in this position should contact us by email at election@eastdunbarton.gov.uk 

Argyll & Bute

We have already dealt with a number of requests for replacement ballots and will continue to process requests up until the day of the poll.

Anyone wishing to request a replacement postal vote can contact our Customer Contact Centre on: 01546 605522 or e-mail: Elections@argyll-bute.gov.uk.

You can ask someone else to hand in your postal ballot or you can hand it in to the council offices at Kilmory, Lochgilphead, or the Civic Centre, Helensburgh before 4 July 2024.

Postal votes can be handed into any polling station in the constituency on the day of poll, 4 July. Whoever hands in the ballot will be asked to complete an additional form for each postal vote they hand in.

They may hand in their own postal vote as well as postal votes for up to five other people. More information on our website: www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/my-council/elections/uk-parliamentary-election-4th-july-2024.

Clackmannanshire

We are aware of delays in the delivery of some postal votes by Royal Mail and the remaining postal ballot voting packs were expected to arrive over the weekend.

On Friday we received a number of requests for replacements by people going on holiday and we were open on Saturday morning to facilitate pick up and completion of the ballot papers.

If the voting pack has not been received by today (Monday, July 1), voters should contact the Elections office on 01259 452266 or by email elections@clacks.gov.uk to arrange reissue and a collection time.

These can be collected in person, by arrangement, from Kilncraigs, Council HQ in Alloa.

Electors should contact the Election office before attending.
 
Voters should bring photographic identification and will be able to complete and submit their postal vote in privacy when they attend.

Aberdeen

Residents should contact the council’s election team so that they can advise and issue replacements where appropriate.  

Aberdeen City Council’s Elections Office tel 01224 045450 or email elections@aberdeencity.gov.uk

If people are currently registered to vote by post, it is too late to change method of voting. Hopefully the election team can assist people before they leave [for holiday]. 

East Ayrshire

The Electoral Registration Office in Ayrshire has confirmed a postal vote electorate of 18,109 in the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. This is almost 25% of the total electorate.

The first batch of postal vote packs (almost 17,000) were issued on Friday 21 June, with deliveries to doorsteps due on Saturday 22 June. For those who registered later for a postal vote (noting the deadline of 19 June), a second batch was issued on Friday 28 June, with deliveries expected on Saturday 29 June.

We were made aware that a number of second issue packs had been spoiled at the 3rd party print centre, and as such 221 of the second issue packs are now scheduled to arrive on doorsteps today (Monday 1 July).

Our election team have worked extremely hard to accommodate any requests for replacement packs since Friday, to ensure any voter who needed an urgent replacement could be issued with a replacement pack without unnecessary delay.

Almost 200 replacements have been requested with the vast majority of these produced and issued by Saturday evening. Requests for replacements continue to be received and processed on receipt, with many electors able to collect their packs from East Ayrshire Council HQ shortly after their request has been received.

It is important to note that once a replacement has been issued, the original ballot paper is cancelled. Should any elector who has requested a replacement, now be in receipt of the original, then the replacement pack must be used for the purpose of submitting your postal vote. The original pack will be rejected upon receipt.

Should anyone in East Ayrshire who is registered to vote by post, still NOT have received their packs following their Monday postal delivery, they should contact the election office on 01563 576555 to request a replacement.

Completed postal votes can then be returned by post using the prepaid enveloped provided, or alternatively handed in to Council HQ at London Road Kilmarnock, or to any polling place in the constituency on Thursday.

South Lanarkshire Council

All of our 48,181 postal votes were issued in batches over the last two weeks. It would appear that the vast majority have been received, and indeed we are seeing return rates similar to those experienced in previous elections.

It has been acknowledged nationally that there have been some issues in some areas with deliveries, but the numbers affected locally are very small and we have taken steps to address any issues that have been raised with us.

This has included reissuing postal votes when we have been asked to do so, and on Saturday we opened our offices to assist registered postal voters, in particular those who wanted to have their packs reissued before they were scheduled to go on holiday.

With such a short period remaining before election day we would urge anyone who has received their Postal Vote to send it in as soon as possible, using the envelope provided. As long as it is in the postal system on Thursday we will receive it.

Electors can also hand in their postal vote at any polling station on 4 July.