General Election 2024: Can I still vote if my postal ballot has not arrived?

ITV News' Correspondent John Ray breaks down what is behind the delays.

Delays to postal vote deliveries have sparked concern over whether some voters will be able to cast a ballot in Thursday's election.

More than 90 constituencies have raised concerns about ballots failing to arrive, according to The Telegraph, with the majority of issues concentrated in Scotland.

The poll is taking place in the first week of the school holidays north of the border, with a higher than usual number of people expected to vote ahead of time.

Number 10 said the government is aware of some issues around the printing and delivery of postal ballot packs in some local areas and is working to help resolve them.

Royal Mail has since said there is "no backlog" to postal votes and that the service remains "confident" that postal votes handed in on time will be delivered prior to polling day.

Completed postal votes must have reached councils by 10pm on July 4.

Here, ITV News explains what your options are if you have not yet received your postal voting package and what is causing the delays.

Can you still vote if your postal ballot has not arrived?

The Electoral Commission is advising anyone who has not received their postal ballot pack to "request a replacement from their local authority".

A replacement can be sent by post up until 5pm on Wednesday July 3, and voters can authorise someone to collect it on their behalf.

If a replacement has not arrived, voters should contact the electoral services team at a their local council up to 5pm on polling day to seek guidance.

If voters are concerned about returning their ballot by post, it is possible to hand deliver the voting pack to their polling station on polling day.

But, the government has said Royal Mail will also be conducting sweeps of their delivery system on polling day to make sure any ballot packs still in the postal system are identified and passed to returning officers ahead of polls closing.

Voters can also ask someone to hand their ballot pack in on their behalf.

An individual can hand in a maximum of five postal ballots in addition to their own, and will be required to complete a form at the polling station when doing so.

Voters can hand deliver their postal vote to their polling station on Thursday, July 4. Credit: PA

Why have there been delays?

Local councils are responsible for sending postal ballot forms to voters, but the exact reason for delays has not been clarified.

Blame has been passed between the government, local councils and Royal Mail.

The Local Government Association called for a review of the already “overburdened” system put under extra pressure by an “unprecedented increase” in people voting by post.

It added postal voting is expected to have increased 20% since the 2019 general election, and said "more could be done to support Royal Mail and printers to be ready to deliver elections.”

Meanwhile, Royal Mail told ITV News it has "no backlog of postal votes" and said where specific concerns have been raised it has "investigated and confirmed ballot packs are being delivered" as soon as they arrive in its network".

The organisation also said it "would welcome a review into the timetable for future elections" to "ensure that the system for printing and administering postal votes before they are handed to Royal Mail works as smoothly as possible”.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is concerned by the delays, meanwhile Rishi Sunak assures he is working to resolve the issue. Credit: PA

Will this effect the outcome of the election?

"Broadly, no," Vijay Rangarajan, chief executive of the Electoral Commission, said.

"We'll have to see what develops over the next couple of days, but we think out of everyone who applied for a postal vote, almost everyone has now got one.

"I think voters can be pretty confident the outcome of this election will reflect their views, and that after all is the core part of our democratic process."

ITV News Correspondent John Ray asked the chief executive of the Electoral Commission whether postal vote delays could skew election results.

What are party leaders saying about the delays?

Sir Keir Starmer said minister Kevin Hollinrake should call an emergency meeting with Royal Mail about problems with postal ballots.

The Labour leader told reporters on Tuesday: “They need to sort it out and get on with sorting it out because what you can’t have is people who are entitled to a vote not being able to exercise it.

He added: “If the Post Office minister hasn’t met them, do it now in the next hour or two. “Seriously, we are running out of time, it’s not something we can do tomorrow.”

On Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said Rishi Sunak is not concerned that some people could be disenfranchised by the issues.

“We’re working closely with the Electoral Commission, returning officers, Royal Mail and the print suppliers to support the resolution of these issues,” he told journalists.

It comes after Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney warned some Scots could be “disenfranchised” if their postal votes cannot be filled out and returned on time.

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every day in the run-up to the election Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…