MANAGERS at South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) have invested up to £25,000 in new computer software to help ensure there are not further errors with voter registration.

At the district council elections in 2011, about 2,000 postal vote packs in the Vale of White Horse and SODC areas were not supplied to the Royal Mail.

An independent review of the May elections later found there was evidence of “inadequate planning and organisation’’.

Now it has emerged there was a communication problem with postal voters for this year’s European elections.

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SODC’s new leader, John Cotton, said 30 letters were sent incorrectly to postal voters saying their votes had not been counted when they had.

And on one of the letters, another voter’s details were copied on the back, which was a breach of privacy.

Mr Cotton said: “It was a software error rather than human error.

“Officers were already looking at new software and as a result of the error the process was accelerated.

“SODC needs to get this right — it’s important that people have faith in the system.”

SODC and Vale chief executive David Buckle added that new software was required to deal with a change, meaning each individual will now be required to register to vote.

He added: “There was a problem with election software and we have moved quickly to a different supplier to rectify the problem.”


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