Postal voting

Postal voting is voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed to electors or returned by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system. As postal votes must be distributed and placed in return mail before the scheduled election day, it is sometimes referred to as a form of early voting. It can also be used as an absentee ballot.

To enable as many voters as possible to participate, postal voting can assist people who may not be able to attend a polling station in person, for example because of a physical disability, absence from the locality or some other reason. Postal voting is generally available to voters upon application, sometimes with restrictions. If no reason for a request is required, it may be called postal vote on demand. Postal voting may be an option for voters in some jurisdictions, while in some elections there may be all-postal voting.

A form of postal voting was introduced in Western Australia in 1877, followed by an improved method in South Australia in 1890. On the other hand, concerns about postal voting have been raised as to whether it complies with the requirements of a secret ballot, in that people cast their vote outside the security of a polling station, and whether voters can cast their vote privately free from another person's coercion. There have been cases of electoral fraud with postal votes in the United Kingdom (including in Birmingham at the 2004 European and local government elections in the UK).

Voting at elections originally took place by way of a public show of hands or by a public ballot. The right to vote by secret ballot was introduced by the Parliamentary and Municipal Elections Act 1872 (the Ballot Act 1872). After this voting took place at polling stations where voters marked their votes in secret and placed their ballot papers in a closed box.

Absent voting was first introduced for the immediate post-war period in 1918 for servicemen and others prevented ‘by reason of the nature of their occupation…from voting at a poll’ by the Representation of the People Act 1918. Armed forces still serving overseas at the end of World War I were allowed to vote by post, and permanent arrangements were made for proxy voting by servicemen. The Representation of the People Act 1945 again made temporary provision for postal voting by service voters. Postal voting was not extended to civilians until 1948 when the Representation of the People Act 1948 granted postal voting facilities to both service personnel and to certain groups of civilians including those who were physically incapacitated, those unable to vote without making a journey by sea or air or because of the nature of their occupation, and those who were no longer residing at their qualifying address. All had to provide an address in the UK to which ballot papers could be sent. Service personnel could, alternatively, vote by proxy if they were likely to be at sea or abroad on polling day.

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