SOME East Hampshire voters may have found themselves without polling cards for the local elections yesterday (Thursday).

Switchboards at East Hampshire District Council were red hot last week as residents without polling cards began to panic.

EHDC has blamed the election blunder on Royal Mail and EHDC spokesman Steve Bradley said that some voters may not have had their card delivered before the election, but that residents did not need them to vote.

"All you need to do is go to the polling station and give your name and address."

He said that all polling cards had been given to the Royal Mail in Waterlooville by April 14, yet cards were still being delivered right up until the day of the election.

"They were already sorted," he said, "all the Post Office had to do was send them out."

But Royal Mail has said that all the cards they received had been sent out.

Royal Mail spokesman Adrian Booth said last week: "We are working with East Hampshire District Council to resolve issues as soon as possible. At this point we have delivered everything we have from them. But we want to get to the bottom of this issue."

Peter Jacobs was outraged when his family's polling cards arrived five days after the registration deadline for postal voting.

Printed on the polling card was the information regarding postal votes, including the registration deadline of April 23.

"I wanted my son and daughter to have the option of voting," he said. "They are both at university. You expect to get a form to allow you to register for postal voting," he said.

"I thought we lived in a democracy where you have the right to vote."

The council told Mr Jacobs that notices had been put in the press and the council's Partners magazine informing all residents of the postal voting procedure.

"It was in Partners magazine but not everybody reads it from front to back. It should have come through the post on a form," said Mr Jacobs.

But Mr Bradley told The Herald that the council is under no obligation to include postal voting information on polling cards at all.

"Polling cards are not the way postal voting is promoted. We have 2,000 people registered for postal voting through national campaigns and information in Partners magazine.

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"It is not required to put that information on polling cards but we put it on as a reminder - not every district does it. Unfortunately the Post Office has let us down."