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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)

Today I found out (thanks to this news article) that I am now again eligible to vote in UK elections! Well, since I'm still technically a British citizen, have a UK passport, and know what my NI number is, I went ahead and registered.

Huh!

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clwe2wj01gjo


‘I’m voting in the UK general election after decades abroad’

Brits living abroad for more than 15 years now have the right to vote in the UK general election.
Yazmina García (BBC News)
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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)

And I've apparently now been approved to have a postal vote sent to me.

This would be the first time I've voted in UK elections since 1997.

Wild...

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Colin
Colin • mastodon (AP)

Gratz! Hope you can help make a difference even remotely/from sidelines :>

Know of any other folks in similar situation who should be made aware of this too?

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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)
@colinstu I'm not sure my vote really would make too much of a difference. The riding my vote would be under has been a pretty strong Tory holding for years (since 1910), until the MP resigned from the party due to suspicion of rape, possession of controlled substances, and is currently sitting as an independent though not standing in this election.
@Colin
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Colin
Colin • mastodon (AP)

every vote makes a difference (ok maybe exactly but it certainly cannot hurt). Not just your vote but so many other votes out there in general all thinking "it won't make a difference" can indeed lead to a difference.

Right wing LOVES voter suppression, the more the people are properly informed on the topics and are enabled to vote - the better for society. Fascism thrives off fear/doubt and silencing of opposition any means necessary.

Hoping for the best for UK here from US.

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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)
And now officially on the electoral roll in the UK!
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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)

FINALLY got my postal ballot for the UK election today.

Well, guess there’s no point mailing it back because there’s no way it’s gonna get there in time. :P

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Calyo Delphi
Calyo Delphi • mastodon (AP)
That seems like some pretty bullshit shenanigans if ballots are arriving this late in the game.
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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)
@dragonarchitect The Royal Mail (UK mail carrier) is apparently pretty bad for mail in general right now. Doesn’t help that it’s also being sold to a Czech billionaire for some bizarre reason.
@Calyo Delphi
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Calyo Delphi
Calyo Delphi • mastodon (AP)
WHAT WHY...
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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)
@dragonarchitect Thank the (mostly Conservative) government who took 90% of it public, despite opposition from many people. As with all public companies, the goal then is to make money, which is tough for a national mail service to do. And so, it gets sold again.
@Calyo Delphi
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Tryst 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 :ms_asexual_flag: :ms_cat_grin:
Tryst 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 :ms_asexual_flag: :ms_cat_grin: • mastodon (AP)
@dragonarchitect Ripping the wiring out the walls of the state and weighing it in for scrap
@Calyo Delphi
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Colin
Colin • mastodon (AP)
wow they don't even allow/count it if it's been at least POSTMARKED by that date? jfc. If that's not disenfranchisement I don't know what is.
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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)
@colinstu Can’t rely on postmarks on mail these days. I’ve gotten so much that doesn’t even have a postmark. At least nothing readable as one. There’s nothing (readable) on this envelope that even suggests the date it was mailed.
@Colin
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Colin
Colin • mastodon (AP)
bizarre, how do they keep track of cancelled postage without a postmark? I guess that's not needed for presorted mail but I'd assume when you mail it back that it would be postmarked in Canada or did they stop that?
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Tryst 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 :ms_asexual_flag: :ms_cat_grin:
Tryst 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 :ms_asexual_flag: :ms_cat_grin: • mastodon (AP)
You're not alone https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/01/thousands-unable-vote-delays-postal-ballots-uk-general-election

Thousands fear they will lose vote in UK election after postal ballot delays

Voters in the UK and abroad have either not received their ballots or have been left with too little time to return them
Rachel Obordo (The Guardian)
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Pippin
Pippin friendica
@Kootenay Ours haven't arrived, even now, and we're in London! I'm going over to our council offices tomorrow armed with forms and IDs to get replacement ballot packs, then walking them down to our local polling station on Thursday to make sure they get there. On the other hand a couple of blurays Cinema Paradiso sent me yesterday arrived today, so the problems with the post are certainly not predictable.
@Kootenay
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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)
@pippin Bleh. Hurrah for privatization, eh? Always makes things better…. Not. :P
@Pippin
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Pippin
Pippin friendica
@Kootenay Privatisation's purpose was never to make things better, but to extract profit, and it seems to do that just fine. 🙄
@Kootenay
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Thumper
Thumper • mastodon (AP)
lol, International Overnight mail? :P
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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)
@thumper A little late to do, considering I need to zoom off to AC early tomorrow.
@Thumper
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Kootenay
Kootenay • mastodon (AP)
Ah well. Turns out my vote wouldn’t have made much difference either.
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