NI election 2023: Thousands of absentee ballot requests rejected

More than 5,000 applications for postal and proxy votes in the Northern Ireland council elections were rejected due to problems related to the digital registration number (DRN).

Voters are required to provide a DRN when they register online to vote by post or by proxy.

It is only a requirement in Northern Ireland.

The figures were revealed by a Freedom of Information request from BBC News NI to the Electoral Office.

They showed that 73% (5,118) of the total 7,017 rejected postal or proxy vote applications in May's council elections were not approved due to issues with the DRN.

These included people submitting their application without a DRN number or filling in the wrong number.

The Electoral Office said it did not hold information on the number of people who were unable to vote as a result of not being able to vote by post or proxy, as they could have subsequently voted in person.

It is now reviewing the process.

Chief electoral officer Sarah Ling said she was aware many voters had "struggled to understand the DRN process".

"While 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," she said.

"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."

Pamela Bloomer, from Downpatrick, County Down, has multiple sclerosis - she said she re-registered on the electoral register in 2021 by post so did not receive a DRN.

She submitted a postal vote application in March this year, alongside applications for her husband and her son, who has learning disabilities.

Both men were successfully able to vote by post, although her husband was asked to resubmit his application with a DRN, which she said he asked the Electoral Office to send to him by email.

Mrs Bloomer did not hear anything about her application until two weeks before the election when she was told it had been rejected as she had not included her DRN.

The deadline for postal vote applications had already passed by this time, meaning she was unable to re-apply.

"Luckily I was able to ask a relative for a lift and managed to vote in person," Mrs Bloomer said.

"I'm fortunate; I'm in my 50s. But if I was older - in my 70s or 80s - there is no way I could have done that. I wouldn't have been able to vote.

"My local councillor said it had happened to a lot of people across his constituency. It seems farcical.

"If they are going to go down the digital road, they need to let everyone know what their number is.

"What's wrong with sending it out again when reminding people to vote?"

May Herron, from Castlewellan, County Down, asked one of her councillors to help with her postal vote application.

Despite sending it ahead of the deadline, the 87-year-old received a letter the day before the election telling her it had been rejected due to a missing DRN.

Relatives brought her to vote in person, only for her to be told by officials that she had already voted by post.

Her daughter, Eileen Jones, said it caused her mother a lot of stress.

"The people at the voting desk asked her to fill in some paperwork so she could vote but Mum came away not knowing if she did or not. She was very upset," she said.

"We thought we were doing a good thing trying to get a postal vote so everything would be organised.

"I didn't want to take her to the voting station in case she tripped and fell.

"I don't even know what a DRN is. I have no idea what my number is and I re-registered for the electoral roll online."

A report by the Electoral Commission, published in September, found the main reason for postal and proxy votes being rejected in the Northern Ireland Assembly election in May 2022 was due to the DRN not being provided.

This accounted for more than 60% of the total 6,031 rejected applications to vote by post or proxy.

The commission called on the UK government to review the DRN process "to ensure it does not prevent people from accessing their vote".

A spokesman said: "Ahead of the local council elections we ran a public awareness campaign to raise awareness of the DRN, targeting groups who were more likely to need a postal or proxy vote.

"Despite this, it appears from early feedback that the DRN continues to be an issue."