Sheffield: Manor Castle voters issued two ballots in election mix-up

Sheffield City Council admitted that postal voters in the Manor Castle ward for the 2 May council elections mistakenly received two copies of their postal vote

Voters in one area of Sheffield have been sent two copies of the pack enabling them to cast their postal ballot in upcoming elections.

The city council said the error affected postal voters in the Manor Castle ward.

Elections for local councillors, plus a poll for the South Yorkshire Mayor, will take place on 2 May.

Returning officer and council chief executive Kate Josephs said nobody would be able to vote more than once.

A city council spokesman asked those affected to return the first pack as normal and securely destroy the second.

If both packs were returned then the second pack would be rejected and no voter will be able to vote more than once.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said one of the packs contained an error in the accompanying instructions.

It asked recipients to vote for no more than two candidates in the city council election. This should have read "vote for one candidate".

The instructions at the top of all of the ballot papers are, however, correct, the LDRS said.

Those who have returned a postal vote for Manor Castle ward and believe they may have voted for two candidates for either election are asked to contact the elections team at [e-mail] or call 0114 2736910.

If this does not take place their vote will be rejected and will not be counted, the council said.

Ms Josephs said: "We are aware of an issue with postal votes in Manor Castle ward.

"Those affected will receive a letter through the post over the weekend regarding this matter with instructions of how to proceed and we ask everyone affected to take action as soon as possible.

"Please be assured no-one in Sheffield will be able to vote twice."