AN ERROR on poll cards sent out to every elector in Basingstoke and Deane has resulted in the borough council having to re-issue the correct information to thousands of people at a cost of £30,000.

The mistake saw EU referendum polling cards displaying the deadline for new applications to vote by post or to cancel an existing postal vote as Tuesday, June 7, when it should have read Wednesday, June 8.

The re-issued information, sent on a postcard by Laura Taylor, counting officer, said: “All other information on your poll card is correct.

“I apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council was forced to send out the postcards to every resident registered to vote to inform them of the correct date – a blunder which has cost around £30,000 in printing and postal costs.

Ms Taylor apologised for the error, adding: “We worked with the Electoral Commission to take swift action to rectify the matter to ensure people were notified in good time that the date for new applications to vote by post or to cancel existing postal votes is 5pm on Wednesday, June 8.”

It is not the first time an error has been made on poll cards issued by the borough council.

In 2010, 11,000 voters in north Hampshire did not receive their polling card in time for the General Election, a mistake which cost £3,994 to send out emergency mailshots to all those affected.

And in May this year, voters in the Brookvale and Kings Furlong area of Basingstoke had to be issued with a new ballot paper because of a printing error which saw the wrong information on the candidates printed for the local elections.

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