Electors must now renew postal votes every three years under new rules

The new rules, introduced under the Elections Act 2022, first impact electors who applied for a postal vote before 31 October 2023, who must now reapply to vote by post before 31 January 2026 - or have the postal vote cancelled.

Once a postal vote has been cancelled, an elector must make a fresh application or vote at a polling station or by proxy at the next scheduled elections on Thursday 7 May 2026.

The council plans to email or write to all postal voters affected by the new rules with information on how to reapply.

Electors must have the following to reapply:

• date of birth
• National Insurance number
• a photo or scanned copy of your handwritten signature in black ink on plain white paper

Dan Green, Returning Officer for Rugby, urged electors impacted by the new rules to reapply for a postal vote as soon as possible.

"The Elections Act 2022 has introduced a number of significant changes to the way we vote, including presenting valid photo ID at a polling station and having to complete a return form when hand-delivering a postal vote," Mr Green added.

"The need to renew your postal vote application every three years was the final change introduced by the Act and we want to encourage electors impacted by the new rules to reapply for a postal vote in plenty of time ahead of the next scheduled local elections in May."

Electors can reapply for a postal vote online at www.rugby.gov.uk/postalvote