Ashford postal vote numbers lag behind the National Average

2.28.03pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 20th Apr 2005

Postal vote applications are much lower in Ashford than the UK average

Nearly 8200 (8.3%) of Ashford's 68,655 voters have requested a vote by post. Whilst the figure is up on the 2001 numbers they still significantly lag behind the anticipated national postal vote figures of 15%.

Commenting on the figures Ashford Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Chris Took said "one of the main themes of this election will undoubtedly be trust, not just in politicians but also in the voting system. Whilst I have every faith that the system in our part of the world is safe I believe recent fraud prosecutions in Birmingham have stopped many residents from applying for a postal vote."

The deadline for postal vote applications was April 19th, earlier than many other constituencies.

"The early application deadline is a positive step, should their be any issues surrounding postal vote applications or postal vote returns our officers have given themselves plenty of time to resolve such issues" Chris added.