Brexit postal votes were refused

Some Brexit referendum postal votes were not counted, residents have been told in letters that were sent out last week.

Angie Tyrrell, 63, and her father, 82, were both told that their votes were not counted because the signature and date of birth did not match Aylesbury Vale District Council’s records.

Angie says that both of these were correct, and believes that the vote was deliberately excluded because both her and her father voted leave.

She said: “I just feel that they were so afraid of not staying in that they took out the ones that wanted out.

“I couldn’t believe it, I thought what are you talking about? I should know my own date of birth, I thought ‘What are you playing at?’

“I would like to know why they did it.

“I think, why me?

“Why have you done it to me?”

Angie says she has always used a postal vote and has never had any issues in the past, but sent it two weeks before the deadline to make sure that her vote was counted.

She has lived in Aylesbury for 21 years and recently retired from her work as a cook in an old people’s home.

Angie lives with her son, Paul Grant, who did not have the same issue because he voted in person on the day.

The council say that she did not provide a signature or date of birth.

They said: “In this case Mrs Tyrrell returned her postal ballot pack for the EU referendum, but neither a date of birth nor signature were provided and her statement was therefore rejected.

“This meant that the accompanying ballot paper could not by law, be included in the referendum count.”

Britain voted to leave the European Union in a referendum on June 23 by a slim margin of 51.9% to 48.1%, with a 72% turnout of the whole UK but the majority of leave votes came from England and Wales.

The Electoral Commission will not accept postal vote applications if the details submitted are incorrect.

The EC says on its official website that the electoral registration officer “may check the signature on an absent voting application against any other copies of the elector’s signature or date of birth”.

Angie says she did include the details and the council has said she is welcome to inspect the form to check if she so wishes.