An independent review has been published into how postal voting was managed in North West Essex during the general election.
The issues arose after 2,688 postal votes for residents in the Chelmsford part of the new constituency were not sent out as planned on June 19, and instead went out on June 28.
Some 2,076 of these postal votes were successfully returned in order to be counted - representing a 77 per cent return rate, which is typical of the three-quarters of postal votes that are usually returned in parliamentary elections.
Cllr Petrina Lees, leader of Uttlesford District Council, commissioned leading independent electoral expert Peter Stanyon, from the Association of Electoral Administrators, to investigate the issues with delayed postal vote dispatch and make recommendations for the future.
The report has been published as part of the agenda for the audit and standards committee meeting on Thursday, September 26, and can be viewed at https://uttlesford.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=6332&x=1.
In his report, Mr Stanyon notes that the election in North West Essex was "generally administered well", the error had "no effect on the eventual outcome" and that "appropriate procedures were followed" once the issues came to light.
The report makes a series of recommendations for the council - including carrying out a separate internal review of the challenges faced in electoral processes by the elections team.
This will identify any potential single points of failure and the resources and support required to mitigate risk in future.
Mr Stanyon also suggested putting additional administrative checks in place.
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Cllr Lees said: "Whilst the issues with the delayed postal vote dispatch had no effect on the outcome of the election, it is important that we understand what went wrong and make sure we apply learning from it in future.
"I would like to thank Peter Stanyon for his report and the list of recommendations which we will fully consider and take on board."
The Electoral Commission carried out its own separate moderation process, and determined the error does not require formal assessment.
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