Thousands of voters in Wales were left unable to cast their ballots after a failure in the postal voting system led to more than 1,300 ballot packs going missing or undelivered ahead of the Senedd elections.
Cardiff Council confirmed that voters in the Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf and Caerdydd Penarth constituencies had not received their postal votes, despite having applied for them in advance of the poll.
Royal Mail said the ballot papers had not been printed and therefore were never handed over for delivery, contradicting earlier suggestions that they were already in the postal system.
The Labour-run council said it was treating the issue as an “urgent priority” and was working to ensure affected electors could still exercise their democratic right where possible.
However, officials confirmed that those now away from home and unable to return before polling stations close would not be able to vote, as there is no mechanism to cancel and reissue emergency proxy arrangements at this stage.
The council said: “Unfortunately, for those now away from home, there is no provision at this stage to apply for an emergency proxy.”
Around 1,388 postal ballot packs were affected, out of almost 47,000 issued across the area. More than 26,500 completed postal votes had already been returned.
A number of replacement ballot packs have since been hand-delivered or sent via priority post to limit further disruption.
The singer Gruff Rhys, who said he had not received his ballot paper, described the situation as a “fiasco” on social media, warning that, in a close contest, it could influence the outcome. He said he would likely miss the opportunity to vote due to touring commitments.
Cardiff Council initially said it believed ballot data had been passed to its print provider and on to Royal Mail, but the postal service later denied receiving the materials, stating the packs were never printed.
“All ballot packs received by Royal Mail in the area have been processed and delivered as expected,” a Royal Mail spokesperson said.
The Electoral Commission said it would produce a statutory report into the Senedd election, including an examination of issues surrounding postal voting.
Welsh Labour described the situation as “very concerning” and urged swift resolution, as political attention intensifies ahead of a closely watched contest in which Labour is projected to face significant losses, according to polling published by The Telegraph.
Plaid Cymru is currently forecast to perform strongly, with Labour slipping in projected standings and Reform UK also gaining ground, while the Greens are expected to return a small number of seats.
The incident has raised fresh questions over electoral administration and postal voting reliability at a time when the integrity and accessibility of the voting process is under increased scrutiny.
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