Electoral Office of Northern Ireland to review how almost 5000 postal vote applications were rejected

“I have already written to the chief electoral officer for NI in order to attempt to address the issue for future elections,” the UUP MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone said.

“At a time when there is much encouragement to people to exercise their right to vote it is alarming that many people have lost that opportunity. This is particularly relevant in a number of DEAs where the result is down to a few votes separating candidates.

“The most common reason given was the lack of digital registration numbers, with many people not having this number.

“The process of getting a medically qualified person to confirm an application is also becoming extremely difficult in many instances.

“Many others are unaware that they have or require their Digital Registration Number (DRN), this is proving a barrier to many seeking to secure their vote.

“The chief electoral officer for NI has undertaken to carry out a review of the digital registration process and what can be done to assist voters before any further elections in Northern Ireland.”

Chief Electoral Officer for NI, Sarah Ling, told the News Letter she is now conducting a review of the matter.

“We are aware that many voters are struggling to understand the DRN process,” she said.

“Whilst the DRN has been required since 2018, the requirement has impacted more voters since the canvass in 2021 when everyone had to re-register to stay on the electoral register.

“Many did this by registering online and now need to provide a DRN when they apply to vote by absent vote at an election.

“We are conducting a review to understand what more we can do to help electors through the process, however the legal requirement to provide one when someone has registered online is not within our remit to change.”