Voters urged to ‘act today’ over missing election postal packs

The UK deadline to apply for postal vote applications was 19 June.

Any long-term postal voters or those who applied before 7 June should have received their voting pack last week.

But many people were unaware that if they applied after that date their voting papers would be sent out in a second batch, with some only dispatched in recent days.

In Scotland, where the school term ends earlier than elsewhere in the UK, some voters had left the country for summer holidays before their postal ballots arrived.

For those still in the country and without a voting pack, replacement packs can be obtained from council offices.

If voters are concerned about posting dates for returning them, many councils have arrangements for handing them in at offices.

Alternatively they can be handed in by voters in person on polling day at their local polling station.

But for anyone already out of the country there is little that can be done, barring a return home to vote.

The deadline for proxy votes has passed and emergency proxy votes are only possible in limited circumstances such as being called away suddenly for work.