00:00Leeds City Council is urging postal voters to act now, with around 45,000 people still
00:06yet to renew their postal vote details. Anyone who does not complete the process by the end
00:11of this month will lose the option to vote by post. The change follows the Government's
00:16Elections Act 2022, which requires postal voters to renew their application every three
00:21years and complete an identity check. In Leeds, anyone who applied to vote by post before
00:26the end of January last year must reapply by January 31. The council says Leeds has around
00:32160,000 registered postal voters, the highest number of any comparable city in the country.
00:38So far, election staff have processed around 115,000 renewals, leaving tens of thousands
00:43still outstanding. Officials say some of those voters may be choosing to switch to in-person
00:48voting or may not plan to vote, but anyone who wants to continue voting by post must take action
00:52now. Those who miss the deadline will need to attend a polling station in future elections,
00:57starting with the local elections in Leeds on Thursday 7 May. The council's chief executive
01:02and electoral registration officer, Ed Whitting, says this is the final chance for people who
01:06want to keep voting by post. He says the response so far has been strong, but too many people
01:11still risk losing their preferred way of voting. The quickest way to reapply is online. Voters must
01:17provide personal details, including their date of birth, national insurance number and a clear image
01:22of their signature. These details are checked against government records. Paper forms are
01:26also available for anyone unable to apply online.
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