Make your vote count
Carlisle Elections
(Date of issue: Monday, 18 April 2011)
As just over 12,000 postal voting packs start dropping through
letter boxes across the Carlisle area, postal voters are being
reminded to read the instructions carefully when casting their vote
otherwise their vote might not be counted.
When voting by post in this May’s Local Election and the UK
Referendum on the voting system to the UK Parliament, voters need
to fill in a form accompanying their ballot paper, giving their
signature and date of birth. As a security measure, these are
matched against the signature and date of birth the voter provided
when they applied to vote by post.
Maggie Mooney, Returning Officer for Carlisle, said:
“Postal voting is growing in popularity as a convenient way to
have your say. But at every election, some postal votes are
invalid, because the voter either forgot to sign the postal voting
statement or wrote down the date they filled it in, rather than
their date of birth.
“We’ve provided a guide to completing your postal ballot in your
pack, so please do take the time to read it and provide the right
information so that we can count your vote. We need to receive your
postal votes before polls close at 10pm on Thursday, 5 May.”
The Electoral Commission, the independent elections and
referendum watchdog, has sent every household in England an
information booklet on the election and the referendum. Anyone who
has not received a booklet can download it at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk
or call 0800 3 280 280.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
The City Council currently has 52 Councillors, comprising 23
Labour Councillors, 22 Conservative Councillors, five Liberal
Democrat Councillors and two Independent. Each Councillor serves
one of 22 wards.
City Council elections will be held on Thursday, 5 May 2011.
Elections will be held in the following 18 wards of the City (one
Councillor to be elected in each ward):Belah; Belle Vue; Botcherby;
Burgh, Castle; Currock; Dalston; Denton Holme; Harraby; Irthing,
Longtown & Rockcliffe; Lyne, Morton; St Aidans; Stanwix Rural;
Stanwix Urban; Upperby; and Yewdale wards.
Parish elections are also scheduled to be held in the Parishes
of Bewcastle, Nicholforest, Orton and Burgh By Sands.