After any poll, where an absent voter appears on the list of postal votes that have failed the identifier checks, you must tell the absent voter (and the elector if the absent voter is a proxy) that their ballot paper was rejected. The absent voter will appear on this list because the Returning Officer was not satisfied that the postal voting statement was duly completed.
At a UK Parliamentary election, where an absent voter appears on the list of postal votes rejected when handed in at a polling station or the council offices, you must tell the elector that their postal vote document was rejected. An absent voter at a UK Parliamentary election will appear on this list because:
the relevant officer rejected the postal vote document at the point it was handed in to a polling station or to the Returning Officer at council offices
the postal ballot paper was a left behind postal voting document
When must I send a postal vote rejection notice?
Where a postal voting statement was rejected, you must within three months of the date of the poll send the elector a rejection notice informing them of the rejection.
You do not need to send a rejection notice if:
the person is no longer shown in your records as an absent voter at the time you send out the rejection notice,
the Returning Officer suspects that an offence may have been committed in relation to the postal ballot paper, postal voting statement or the absent voter’s registration as an elector
If you are not also the Returning Officer for the poll you should:
arrange for the Returning Officer to send you the list of rejected postal voting statements
liaise with them after the poll, so you do not send a rejection notice to a postal voter where fraud is suspected
What information must a postal vote rejection notice include?
The information that must be included in a postal vote rejection notice will depend on the reason the postal voting statement or postal vote document was rejected.
Postal vote identifier rejection notice
Where the postal voting statement was rejected, the rejection notice must include the reason for the rejection i.e. whether:
the signature provided on the postal voting statement did not match the example held by you; or
the date of birth provided alongside the postal voting statement did not match the one held by you; or
no signature was provided on the postal voting statement; and, or
no date of birth was provided on the postal voting statement
Postal vote document rejection notice
Where the postal vote document for a UK Parliamentary elections was rejected, the postal vote document rejection notice must include the reason for the rejection i.e. whether:
the postal vote return form was not fully completed (incomplete)
the number of postal votes handed in exceed or was expected to exceed the permitted number
the postal vote was handed in by a political campaigner not permitted to handle the postal votes
the postal vote was left behind
The notices may also include any other information that you consider appropriate but must not include the date of birth or signature.