City of Edinburgh Council open emergency facility to combat postal vote delay issues

The City of Edinburgh Council have set up an emergency facility for voters who haven’t received their postal vote yet and won’t be at home to cast their ballot next week.

Delays with postal votes have caused concern across the country with many only arriving in households today. That coincides with the end of the school year and many families will leave to go on holiday immediately, leaving little to no time to send their votes back.

First Minister John Swinney described it as ‘troubling’ this morning while the Tories were accused of suppressing Scottish votes earlier this week when the Herald first reported on the issue.

Some have blamed the delays on Royal Mail while the electoral commission claimed that it is normal that postal votes haven’t arrived yet.

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The timing of the election has been made more difficult for Scots because of school holidays but Edinburgh residents can now attend the City Chambers today and over the weekend and have their voting pack reissued.

A polling both will also be opened for people who wish to cast their vote there and then. The council have urged people who will be at home next week to wait on their packs arriving, with the majority likely to be delivered to people’s homes by tomorrow.

The facility will be open until 5pm today and reopen at 9am on Saturday. Paul Lawrence, the Returning Officer for Edinburgh, admits that the timing of the election has been a challenge but they are determined to ensure as many people as possible are able to make their voices heard in next week’s vote.

He 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.”