People planning to vote in the 2024 General Election by post are urged to look out for their vote pack, which will start to hit doormats soon.
Voters are due to go to the polls on July 4.
All postal voters are advised to check the instructions which comes with the ballot paper to make sure they complete it correctly.
Anyone who wishes to apply for a postal vote for the General Election and has not done so already, has until 5pm on Wednesday, June 19 to do so.
Apply for postal voting
To apply for a postal vote you also have to be registered to vote first.
If you are not already registered, the deadline to do this for the General Election is midnight tomorrow, Tuesday June 18.
To apply, visit https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote
Postal voting rules
The rules for postal votes have also now changed.
It means anyone returning a postal vote by hand must complete a postal vote return form.
A postal vote returned by hand not accompanied by a postal vote return form will be rejected.
The easiest way to return a postal vote is to use the Royal Mail envelope provided with the postal vote pack.
Just pop it in a postbox in good time to ensure the vote is counted.
Electors who wish to hand their postal vote in at a polling station or one of the designated council offices must now complete a postal vote return form for the postal vote to be accepted.
At polling stations, presiding officers and clerks will have the necessary form to be completed.
Council offices have signs in place to tell electors where they need to go to complete the form when they come to hand the vote in.
Postal votes should not be put through the letter boxes or internal mail boxes at council buildings as these will have to be rejected.
There are also new limits on the number of postal votes that can be handed in by one person.
Important information for people living in Carlisle’s Harraby North ward
Postal voters in the Harraby North ward are advised that they will be getting two postal vote packs – one for the Harraby North ward election, and one for the General Election.
The council by-election, following the death of Councillor Cyril Weber, will be held on Thursday, June 27.
Voters are advised to check the details on the ballot paper to confirm which election they are voting in and to note that the date by which the postal votes must be returned will be different.
The easiest way to return a postal vote is to use the pre-paid Royal Mail envelope provided.
Separate envelopes should be used for each ballot paper.
