SIR ROBERT SMITH: LOCAL SERVICEMEN COULD MISS OUT ON ELECTION

2.00.00pm GMT Thu 25th Feb 2010

Changes to voting rules which would help ensure local servicemen and women operating abroad have the opportunity to vote in the forthcoming General Election are required urgently, according to local MP Sir Robert Smith.

Current regulations mean that there are only 11 days in which postal ballots can be printed, dispatched and returned to be included in constituency counts. Sir Robert is concerned that this could leave thousands of people serving in the armed forces overseas unable to register their vote.

Sir Robert is backing a Liberal Democrat motion calling for the General Election timetable to be brought in line with that for local elections, where candidates are nominated 16 days before polling day. It is hoped that this change would help ease logistical difficulties.

Commenting, Sir Robert said:

'The men and women of our armed forces serving overseas risk their lives on a daily basis. Surely it is not much to ask that they should be able to exercise the democratic rights that they are fighting to protect.

'The Government has asked more and more of our service personnel for many years. Changing election rules so that forces votes can be counted is the least that Ministers can do to recognise the sacrifices they make on our behalf.'

The full text of EDM 862 is as follows:

ARMED FORCES VOTING

10.02.2010

Harvey, Nick

That this House expresses concern that a third of service personnel are not currently registered to vote; notes the difficulties which many servicemen and women experience in voting; further notes that the extremely tight timetable for a general election with candidates only being nominated 11 days before polling day, does not leave enough time thereafter for postal ballot papers to be printed, distributed to service personnel deployed abroad, particularly those who are at present in Afghanistan, and returned in time to be included in constituency counts; and calls on the Government to amend the timetable for general elections to match the local election timetable, with candidates