Postal voters remain a pivotal group for Liberal Democrat campaigns.
Turnout amongst postal voters in local elections is at least double that of ordinary voters. Having your supporters signed up to a postal vote not only increases the likelihood of them voting – it also lets you focus your resources more efficiently on polling day knowing a large number of your supporters have already voted.
New rules now require postal voters to re-apply for their postal vote every three years in all elections in England, and for UK Parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales.
As we are in the first year of this process, everyone who applied for their postal vote prior to 31 October 2023 must re-register by the end of January – otherwise they will lose their postal vote and will need signing up again.
Make a list of current postal voters in Connect
With a number of postal voters lapsing at the end of the month you need to save a static list on Connect of existing postal voters in Lib Dem target pools or with a Lib Dem canvass analysis before 31 January.
Once the new postal voter lists come out in February, you will be able to compare the new list with the old, and produce a list of our supporters who have dropped off for us to target.
This article explains how to do this
Recruiting Postal Voters
New postal voters can be recruited up to Tuesday 21 April (in order to vote in the 2026 local elections). The new rules around re-application mean many Lib Dem supporter’s postal votes will expire. Whether you have elections or not, targeting lapsed or new postal voters must be a priority.
ALDC has a number of direct mail and email templates to help you recruit supporters onto postal votes.
- 2026 PV Recruitment Letter – Affinity – PDF
- 2026 PV Recruitment Insert – Affinity – PDF
- PV Recruitment Email
Direct Mail Bulk Buys
ALDC and our print partners Election Workshop, have regular bulk-buy deals to get your mailings (including postal voter recruitment mailings) at discount rates.
ALDC members receive a year round discount on ordering letters, inserts and envelopes for Election Workshop. Election Workshop also do regular bulk buy deals for posted mailings (these are posted directly to residents and cheaper than the cost of second class postage).
You can find full details of prices and upcoming dates for posted mailings here:
The changes to postal vote re-application rules mean everyone has urgent tasks to save a list of existing Lib Dem postal voters and to re-recruit those who lapse at the end of January. For those of us with local elections in May postal vote recruitment over the next few months will be vital.