For Brits: it's time to vote

[Deep Blue]

Would the honourable member for the rest of the world please stop banging on about frozen pension payments

Yep, although the French have 11 MP's for non-residents, so it would be the MP for North Asia or whatever

[bryanc]

thanks for this-i am keen to take up the rights which have been extended to us for voting overseas-seems still way inside the deadline to apply-but what is this info i saw on here about postal votes being too slow??

[CluelessToshika]

Application for a postal vote: https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote

(which I will try and do later).

I was told in an email last week from a "Senior Electoral Services Officer" that a postal vote would probably not arrive back in time. This is because:

"As this election has called at short notice, your postal vote can only be sent out after the deadline for nominating a candidate has passed (which for this election will be 7th June). With other printing practicalities to take into account this will only give a limited time to send your overseas postal vote to you and a very limited time or even no time at all to return it by 10pm on 4th July."

Since I can't vote there in person, and I no longer know anyone in that constituency to act as my proxy (it's the last place I worked and not my hometown constituency) then this only leaves the "proxy voting my mail" option. Hopefully my brother will be able to do this... though that might depend on whether we both want the same outcome or not!

Hmm, I am in a similar position as the constituency I am registered in is somewhere I lived for about 2 years over 30 (!) years ago. Looks like "proxy voting by mail" then.

[northSaver]

... but what is this info i saw on here about postal votes being too slow??

I think it's pretty much how he explained it in the part I quoted. So if we assume it takes 10 days for the form to arrive form the UK, 1 day to fill it in and post back, then another 10 days to arrive, they would have to send it on or before 12th June for it to work. That only gives them 5 days (or 3 working days) to print and post the form, because they won't know the final candidates until the deadline has passed on the 7th June. This timescale is very tight! So if you want to make sure your vote arrives in time, it's probably better to choose a different option.

[adamu]

Last time I considered using a proxy to solve this issue, my potential proxy said "Not if you're going to vote for Corbyn...", so I thought if there are conditions attached I'll take my chances with the postal system.

I sent it via registered mail and confirmed it arrived in time.

[Gareth]

Just wanted to make sure no-one else has made the same incorrect assumption as me.

As an overseas voter, I just automatically assumed that the ballot papers would be posted out to us. But that’s not the case.

If you want a postal vote, of course you need to apply for it. It’s not automatic.

My constituency is my mother’s. But we are different politically so I will chance a postal vote, which needs to be applied for. Don’t make the same incorrect assumption as me. Apply for your postal vote if that’s how you intend to vote.

As others have said, the timing is tricky. I emailed the person that confirmed my overseas vote. They said:

“I’m waiting for confirmation from our printers which date overseas postal votes will be despatched. There should be enough time but it obviously depends on Royal Mail and each country’s postal system.”

Again, you need to apply for your postal vote if that’s what you want or your proxy vote if that’s what you want. Nothing is automatic.

I feel a bit daft for getting it so wrong but if admitting it helps others not to make the same mistake, then I’m happy to admit I’m a plonker.

[adamu]

This is covered on the wiki by the way, with lots of useful links

https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/United_Kingd ... esentation

[Bubblegun]

I have to say my local authority has been very quick on the replies regarding the voting register. I erroneously, believed they would automatically send out a ballot to my foreign address, and they replied within 12 hours so I was pretty impressed by that. Everything is all done, now it is up to the very same organisation to get my vote in. Ironically I have more confidence in the Japanese postal service delivering this on time from their end, than I have confidence in the Royal Mail delivering it a few hundred miles on time. It will have to be either registered or re-posted the same day I get the ballot.

[mc_spanner]

I'll be sending a postal vote. I hope it reaches its destination on time and that my signature matches the one that I registered, but since the outcome is a foregone conclusion in the constituency where I vote, I won't stress about it.

Here are a few resources if you want to know whether your vote is likely to make a difference. If you can vote in one of these constituencies, you should do everything you can to ensure that your vote is counted.

List of most marginal seats in 2019
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/ge ... rginality/

2024 Politico analysis: "Forget the Red Wall. These are the UK election battlegrounds to watch."
https://www.politico.eu/article/red-wal ... democrats/

Battleground target seats for major parties (click the name of the party to see the top targets for that party)
https://www.electionpolling.co.uk/battleground

[Gareth]

Am finding that so many of the British people I know in Japan have no idea about the law changing and so didn’t know they could vote. One didn’t even know there was an election.

In a way, I’m kind of jealous that they manage to isolate themselves from the madness of U.K. politics…

Whatever the result, let’s hope for a long, sustained period of calm.

By the way, applied for my postal vote on Monday. Got my approval back in less than 8 hours. Not bad at all.