Postal votes for the upcoming local and police and crime commissioner elections are set to start landing on doorsteps imminently.

The elections are set for Thursday, May 2, and Redditch Borough Council has advised recipients to return their votes promptly by posting them in any Royal Mail Post Box.

Residents who still need to register to vote can do so online by Tuesday, April 16.

 

 

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Applications for postal votes are due by 5pm on Wednesday, April 17.

Residents have been reminded that there are new nationwide regulations for this election.

As a result, an individual can now only submit a maximum of five postal votes in addition to their own, provided they complete and submit a form declaring whether they are a political campaigner.

If someone qualifies as a 'political campaigner', they can only deliver their own vote and those of close relatives or people they are directly caring for.

Electoral services manager, Darren Whitney, said: "We encourage everyone who receives a postal vote for this election to return it to a post box in good time.

"The form which residents are now required to complete if physically handing their postal vote in, requires making a declaration, so if you need to return your own, or anyone else’s postal vote to Customer Services or a polling station please be prepared for it to take longer than it has done in previous years.

"The quickest and easiest option is to return postal votes through the postal service."

From Monday, April 8, the borough council’s customer service team has been relocated to a temporary location at 5 George Walk in the Kingfisher Shopping Centre, behind Primark.

This is where residents can hand in their postal votes or seek other assistance.

Voting day will see an all-out election following the redrawing of ward boundaries by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.