Session 2003-04 16 January 2004
NEW INQUIRY
POSTAL VOTING
In the European Parliament and local elections of June 2004, electors in the North East, East Midlands and possibly other regions will only be able to vote by post. The Committee has resolved to carry out an inquiry into postal voting, with particular reference to the following issues:
electoral fraud
public perceptions
impact on turnout
administration and cost
access and disability issues
voter choice
The Committee invites written evidence on the points above and other relevant topics by
Friday 13 February. It is unlikely that evidence submitted after this date will be published. (Witnesses who wish their evidence to be treated in confidence should contact the Committee clerk in advance.) It should also be noted that decisions about who to call for oral evidence are likely to be taken on the basis of evidence received by this date.[The form which such evidence should take is set out below B please note in particular the restriction on length and that wherever possible it should be submitted by e-mail or on disk].
Oral evidence sessions will be arranged and will be announced in due course.
Contact: Libby Preston, Clerk 020 7 219 3290,
prestonl@parliament.uk
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Written evidence must if possible be submitted in an electronic format, either on disk or preferably by e-mail. It should be in MS Word or Rich Text format. If sent by e-mail it should for this inquiry be sent to
odpmcom@parliament.uk. The e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from. If sent by post it should be sent to the Clerk, ODPM Committee, Committee Office, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. Witnesses without access to a computer are respectfully requested to take particular care that submissions are legible.
Submissions should be as brief as possible, and certainly no more than 3,000 words. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and it would be helpful to include a brief executive summary. Those submitting evidence are reminded that evidence should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere. Once submitted no public use should be made of it. Guidance on the submission of evidence can be found at
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/witguide.htm
Further details of the Committee, including its current membership, can be found on the Committee's homepage at
http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/odpm.cfm Information about the Committee can also be obtained from 020 7219 4972.