Postal Vote Issue Affects Over 1,300 Cardiff Voters
More than 1,300 applicants for postal votes have not received their ballot papers ahead of the Welsh Parliament election scheduled for Thursday, Cardiff council has confirmed.
Royal Mail stated that the missing postal votes in Cardiff were never printed and thus were not handed over to them for delivery.
Cardiff council emphasized that its "immediate priority" is to ensure voters in the Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf and Caerdydd Penarth constituencies can "exercise their democratic right".
Replacement ballot packs have been hand-delivered to affected voters, with a small number sent via priority mail where appropriate.
One of those impacted was Gruff Rhys, frontman of Super Furry Animals, who described the situation as a "fiasco" and expressed disappointment that he would likely not receive his postal vote before departing on tour.
"I know many others in the same situation. At worst in a tight election it could even tip the balance of power," said the Cardiff-based musician on Instagram.
Postal Vote Distribution and Investigation
Cardiff council previously reported issuing nearly 47,000 postal vote packs, with over 26,500 already returned.
The council stated it is "working urgently to investigate the issue" and had "received assurances" from its print provider, Civica, that the relevant data was correctly received from the council and that the packs were printed and dispatched to Royal Mail.
However, a Royal Mail spokesperson clarified that the council later confirmed the affected ballot papers "were not printed and, as such, were never handed over to Royal Mail for delivery." Royal Mail added, "All ballot packs received by Royal Mail in the area have been processed and delivered as expected." Civica has been approached for comment.
Details from Cardiff Council on the Printing Error
On Wednesday, a Cardiff council spokesperson explained: "Following further discussions with the local authority's contracted print provider, it has been confirmed that, while the relevant data was received from the council, the print run for the supplementary voting packs scheduled for last week did not fully take place.
"Initially this resulted in 1,388 packs not being delivered to electors in Cardiff, in the Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf and Caerdydd Penarth constituencies,"
the spokesperson added.
Options for Affected Voters
Voters affected by the issue can still return a completed postal vote pack to any polling station or to County Hall before 22:00 BST on Thursday.
However, voters who are unable to return to Cardiff before the election will have no means of voting, as the council confirmed that "unfortunately, for those now away from home, there is no provision at this stage to cancel an existing postal vote arrangement in order to apply for an emergency proxy."
Election Context and Potential Impact
The new voting system for Wales will elect six candidates in each of the 16 new constituencies. There are potential scenarios where the margin between the fifth and sixth seat could be very narrow.
It is currently unknown how many people have been unable to vote due to this issue, but even a small number of votes could be significant when the Senedd election results are announced on Friday.
Electoral Commission and Party Reactions
The Electoral Commission told the BBC it does not believe postal vote delays are widespread across Wales and advised affected Cardiff voters to follow the council's guidance.
Following the election, the commission will "prepare a statutory report on all aspects of the Senedd election, including monitoring returning officer performance and making any necessary recommendations to the Welsh government."
It added, "The administration of postal voting is one of the areas we will consider, and we will seek views from all related parties as part of this process."
Political parties have responded to the issue as follows:
- The Liberal Democrats stated they had spoken to several people affected in the Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf constituency and said "the system has let them down."
- Plaid Cymru described the situation as "extremely worrying" and urged "anyone who has not received their postal vote pack to contact their local council immediately."
- Welsh Labour called the situation "very concerning" and said the council must ensure "[the postal ballots] are returned in good time to be counted."
- The Welsh Conservatives said "the failure to ensure that all the postal votes were delivered is deeply concerning."
- Reform labelled the matter "completely unacceptable," adding that "people who have postal votes should not be disenfranchised."
- The Greens have been approached for comment.
