A TOWN council is refusing to send out polling cards to constituents for an upcoming by-election to save money.

Woodstock Town Council will save approximately £1,000 by not sending the cards to its 2,000 residents for the election on Thursday, September 9, but one of the candidates is worried it will hit turn-out.

Town mayor Julian Cooper said: “We haven’t had a by-election for some time so I can’t say whether it’s unusual not to send out poll cards.

“Like a lot of local governments, we are relatively short of money at the moment so it’s to cut costs.”

He added: “There are three candidates and I presume they will produce material for the electors of Woodstock.”

A by-election usually costs town councils about £2,000 to run polling stations. The town council’s total budget for this financial year is £191,523.

Candidate Sharone Parnes is concerned that not everyone will be aware of the by-election, which is being advertised on town council notice boards and via its website.

He said: “I am very concerned and disappointed that more is not being done to inform prospective voters of the scheduled election of a town councillor in Woodstock.

“A local election is a wonderful opportunity to actively encourage community participation and enable people to experience the excitement of democracy in action.

“But for many the September 9 election in Woodstock is likely to be a missed opportunity, as the Woodstock Town Council has decided not to issue official poll cards. Voters are particularly unlikely to be unaware, where a general election or other poll is not being held at the same time.”

He added: “The quantity of potential voters in next month’s election is by no means enormous, anyway. So even if not through official poll cards, it doesn’t seem too big an expectation for Woodstock Town Council to arrange direct delivery or posting of some form of official generic reminder notice to registered electors.”

Debbie Smith, spokesman for the Electoral Commission, said: “Sending out poll cards is at the discretion of the returning officer, it’s not for us to tell them what to do.”

Three candidates have been nominated – Linda Ann Glees, Mr Parnes and Brian Yoxall. The seat replaces Gerald Myatt.

Polling stations will be at the Town Hall and The Common Room, in Ryegrass, Flemings Road, and will be open from 7am to 10pm.

The deadline for receiving applications to vote by post is 5pm today and the deadline for receiving applications to appoint a proxy is 5pm on Wednesday, September 1.