Disqualifications and ballot distribution

A few people have been disqualified from the elections for late applications, including one Area Chairman application that was just under an hour past the deadline, and one - Owen Meredith's - that was sent three weeks before but must have been lost in the post.

It is right that election rules are strict, bending any aspect of them undermines the process no matter how mitigating the circumstances are.

Given that many AC's are automatically coronated for having no candidates, however, I'm sure the new NME will be happy to co-opt ACs who were the only ones who tried to apply initially.

As an aside, the poor distribution of ballot papers last year was a major cause for concern, so hopefully lessons have learned. They are being sent out on Monday - if you don't receive one by the end of August please email the Returning Officer at [email protected].