Hi! It’s konkaz (@konkazuk).
With the local elections approaching, the Green Party’s presence in Hackney has become increasingly noticeable, especially with the momentum behind Zack Polanski.
Lately, I’ve been hearing the term “postal voter” quite a lot.
It basically means someone who votes by mail, but since I’m Japanese and don’t have the right to vote here, it’s not something I’d really paid much attention to before.
So in this article, I’d like to look into what a “postal voter” actually is and explain it in a clear and accessible way.
What Is a Postal Voter in the UK?
First of all, a ‘postal voter’ is someone who votes by mail rather than going to a polling station.
In the UK, anyone can apply for a postal vote without needing to give a specific reason. Once registered, a ballot paper is sent to your home before the election.
Thanks to this UK postal voting system, voters don’t have to head to a polling station on election day—they can vote whenever it suits them.
In other words, postal voters are…
people who have already cast their votes before election day.
Why Postal Voters Matter in Election Campaigns
The current postal voting system, which is available to everyone, is a relatively recent development introduced as part of the 2000 reforms.
Since this change in the system, the number of users has increased significantly, and postal voters now play a very important role in modern elections.
One major reason for this is that their votes are cast earlier in the process.
In postal voting, many people return their ballot within a few days after receiving it at home, so it is not uncommon for them to have already voted before election day.
This means that…
part of the result has already been decided before election day even arrives.
In addition, people who use postal voting are generally said to have higher turnout rates and a relatively strong interest in politics.
That’s why political parties see them as voters they are keen to win over.
Why Campaigns Prioritise Postal Voters in Doorknocking
As I mentioned earlier, postal voters are really important in election campaigning, which is why they’re a key target when it comes to door knocking.
To begin with, the timing of contacting them is crucial.
If you visit people after they’ve received their ballot papers, there’s a chance they’ve already voted. Therefore, campaigning tends to focus heavily on the period just before and immediately after ballot papers are delivered.
Postal voters are also people who have already expressed an intention to vote, so they’re a pretty efficient group to focus on when trying to secure votes.
In election campaigning, it is important not to approach all voters in the same way, but to prioritise those who are more likely to vote for you.
Furthermore, political parties have a certain level of information about who postal voters are, allowing them to narrow down which households to visit based on that data. This enables more strategic and efficient campaigning.
As a result, postal voters are a particularly important target when it comes to door knocking.
Summary
From all of this, we can see that UK elections aren’t decided on election day alone.
In reality, the electoral process begins well before that, and postal voters play an important role in that whole process.
Until next time.
konkaz