Half of UK election postal votes - including from France - 'did not count' 

Problems have again been highlighted with postal voting in July’s UK general election, the first in which all adult Britons abroad who have ever lived in the UK were eligible to vote for after the abolition of the ‘15-year rule’. 

The issue arose in previous UK elections and despite pledges of greater efficiency, has not been resolved, according to surveys by charity Unlock Democracy and the UK’s Electoral Commission. 

Read more: Letters: Brexit benefits for Britons in France

The issue is the time it takes for ballots to be sent out to people abroad and received via the post, then returned in time. 

The commission found that only half of people who registered to vote from abroad with a postal vote actually returned it in time for it to count. 

The same number expressed dissatisfaction, in particular with the time available to receive and return the vote. 

Looking at votes cast from France in particular, Unlock Democracy found that only 55% of returned ballots had a ‘reasonable chance’ of being included in the count, 10% had a low chance of being included and 35% had virtually or absolutely no chance. 

The commission proposes that voting should be available via consulates or embassies, and voters should be able to download and print ballots. 

However, Unlock Democracy says online voting, such as is offered by many US states, would be the real “game changer”. 

The current official advice to vote by proxy, if possible, is not practical for everyone, the charity says. 

There are cases of practical problems with the process, plus many people report they are not able to find a trustworthy proxy back in the UK.

Read more: Letter: UK election rule changes did not affect my ability to vote from France