That time of the year when the Politicos send forth their minions to fill our recycling bins with promises that most have no intention of keeping. Today it was the Green Party, whose candidate claims to be a local person. Last week it was the Conservative Party. Next week we get something from the Liberal Democrats together with some of the more niche or ‘weird’ parties, as I like to call them. If the last local elections are anything to go by, then there will little or even nothing from the local Labour Party.
This time, we have elected to have a postal vote. The polling station will be open but it will be easier to do it by post. I seem to remember reading about a local bye-election early last year where most of the voters had to queue, in the rain for an average of 40 minutes. Anyone I have mentioned this to have asked if I’m not worried about the postal vote. “They might get lost in the post!” was one comment. “How do you know it will get counted?” was another. How does anyone know that their vote at the polling station gets counted? If you’re not doing the counting then you don’t know and have to rely on the integrity of the counter. Then you get the ‘conspiracy theorists’ that warn you that “They will know who you are, where you are and who you voted for!” Do I really care? Not a jot! They have already sent me the voting instructions, so ‘they’ already know who and where I am, and I don’t really care if they know who I voted for.
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I gave myself a pat on the back for yesterdays post. Within a few minutes of posting, a message came up informing me that the post had been number 1000.🎉 I knew it was getting close, but I hadn’t looked at my stats page for a while, so it came as a pleasant surprise.
So this becomes the first post of the next 1000. Hope I make it 🤔.
From the keyboard of Tony 
I don’t know how it is in UK of course, but I have assisted in the postal vote in Germany and can give some insights.
In Germany, you will have your ballot and an additional form, as well as a smaller envelope. The ballot itself will be put in the smaller envelope, which will be enclosed in the “big” envelope you actually sent, so you will have your postal vote form (with your signature stating that you filled this out yourself) and the envelope with the ballot.
BEFORE the voting stations are closed, we were allowed to open up the BIG envelopes and check whether there was anything missing – usually the form with the signature. If that was missing, the vote was automatically void. The envelopes containing the ballot are NOT touched at this point, but simply put on one big, separate pile.
Once the voting stations are closed and counting begins, you open the envelopes and check the ballots for validity, then the vote is counted. There is absolutely no way to know who voted for what. I guess the process will be similar in the UK.
Also – for those who are worried that their votes will get lost in the mail, there will probably be drop-off points for your postal vote forms, usually in the city hall, community centres, etc. Drop it off in person and you’re golden! 🙂
Voting by post is safe. We will have our “Bundestagswahl” in September (voting for parliament and a new chancellor), and Philipp and I will be voting by post as well.
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I have no issue with the postal vote, it’s just some people in the UK actually take note of what the Americans say about about postal votes.
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I hope I didn’t come across as wanting to lecturing YOU! Some people do the same here (usual the far right): Postal votes are going to be MANIPULATED and MESSED WITH and … I don’t know. Some people really worry about the wrong stuff.
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No I didn’t feel like I was being lectured. Sorry if I gave that impression 😊
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I’ve had a postal vote for some years, my husband had one for almost forever or so it seemed..
Him because he worked away a lot and would never have wanted to waste his vote. Me simply out of convenience.
I can honestly say that I’ve never ever worried about the voting being rigged, and like you I do not care about anyone knowing which party I vote for.
You’re right, we don’t do such things in Britain; only in Trump’s of date old fashioned imagination
do such things 😂😂 happen.
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