First mayoral election postal ballot papers go out to voters
Published: Thursday 20 Apr 2017
Voters who have registered for a postal vote in the forthcoming West Midlands mayoral election should start to see them arriving through their door from this week.
The postal vote packs were sent out to previously registered postal voters from between April 13 and April 18.
However anyone who applied for a postal vote after March 31 and before the deadline of April 18 will not receive their postal vote until around April 25.
Martin Reeves, the returning officer for the election and WMCA interim chief executive, said: “Due to the specialist production of postal votes it can take up to three weeks from the point an application is submitted for a postal vote to be sent out.
Martin Reeves, the returning officer for the election and WMCA interim chief executive, said: Due to the specialist production of postal votes it can take up to three weeks from the point an application is submitted for a postal vote to be sent out.
Postal votes are extremely important for anyone who cannot make it to the polling station on the day of the vote - they may have mobility issues, be working or be on holiday - and still want their say in this historic election for the West Midlands
The mayoral election will see votes cast in Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
Each of the local authority results will be collated by the returning officer for the mayoral election at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham on Friday May 5, where the winner will be declared.
The successful candidate will, as Mayor, be responsible for a range of issues, including transport, and will chair the recently formed West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
Voters have six candidates to choose from for Mayor
- James Burn - Green Party
- Pete Durnell - UK Independence Party (UKIP)
- Beverley Anne Nielsen - Liberal Democrats
- Siôn Llewelyn Simon - Labour and Co-operative Party
- Graham John Stevenson - Communist
- Andy Street - The Conservative Party Candidate
For more information about the role and powers of the Mayor and the West Midlands Combined Authority, as well as further details about the mayoral election itself, visit www.wmcaelects.co.uk