Edinburgh Council sets up emergency facility after postal vote delays

Edinburgh city council has set up an emergency facility after concerns that voters were being disenfranchised due to postal ballots not arriving on time.

The council is to open up a special unit to allow voters to collect their voting pack to be returned at a later date or even cast their ballot this weekend.

The facility will be based at the City Chambers and be open from 5pm this evening, and 9am-5pm over the weekend.

It follows reports that several people would be unable to vote in the general election due to postal votes not arriving before scheduled holidays.

One Edinburgh voter told Holyrood: “I’m really quite angry. Like any responsible citizen we knew we would be on holiday when the election was announced. We applied for our postal vote through the government website.”

The council has blamed delays in the distribution of postal votes nationally on the Royal Mail, but said voting packs should be delivered in the coming days.

The emergency facility is for use by those going on holiday sooner, with those who are still home next week encouraged to wait for their vote to arrive in the post.

Returning officer for Edinburgh Paul Lawrence said: “I appreciate the concerns of voters on this issue and my absolute priority is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to vote in this general election. That’s why we’ve taken the decision to put in extra resources and open the City Chambers this weekend.

“Please only attend if you haven’t received your postal vote and you’re going on holiday or won’t be at home next week. I’d encourage anyone who has already received their postal vote to return it as soon as possible, through Royal Mail.

“The timing of this election has been challenging as have other circumstances beyond our control, but our teams are working hard to ensure it passes off as smoothly and successfully as possible.”

The issue is impacting voters nationally, not just in the capital. Anthony Teasdale, who lives in the Ochil and South Perthshire constituency, also told Holyrood he had not received his postal vote and has now left the country.

He said: “I’m just flabbergasted. I’m basically being disenfranchised by bureaucratic incompetence.”

The Electoral Management Board for Scotland has said it will carry out a review of the matter after the election.