Why are Doncaster's town and parish councils not sending out poll cards for by-elections?
By-elections put huge costs on these lower-tier authorities with already tiny budgets.
Town and parish councils in Doncaster have the right to choose not to send out poll cards ahead of by-elections, a senior official has said.
Four town and parish councils in the borough have held by-elections in 2026, with all four opting not to send poll cards out to voters.
This includes Stainforth Town Council, where the unanimous decision by councillors not to issue poll cards has received criticism from residents on social media.
However, Trina Barber, electoral services manager at the City of Doncaster Council, said: “The cost of any by-elections is at full cost to those councils.
“For those elections, they get the choice on whether to send poll cards or not. Poll cards are really expensive.”
Ms Barber’s explanation came during a meeting of the city council’s elections and democratic services committee, which provides oversight on electoral processes across the borough.
It means town and parish councils receive no financial assistance from Doncaster Council to hold by-elections, with the entire cost coming from lowly budgets.
Stainforth Town Council confirmed it had estimated the cost to send poll cards out to residents for its recent by-election would have been just under £3,000.
The authority would also have had to pay any venue costs for the five polling stations it used, as well as staffing costs.
Invoices from Royal Mail for the delivery of postal votes to and from voters will also be charged to the town council. This is often a significant cost.
Town and parish councils, the lowest-tier local authorities in the country, have far smaller budgets and income than the next level up.
For 2026/27, Stainforth Town Council’s council tax precept is expected to give them a budget of around £286,000 – tiny compared to Doncaster Council’s combined capital and revenue budgets for the same period, which was just under £1billion.
Other town councils to hold by-elections this year include Hatfield Town Council, Armthorpe Parish Council and Edlington Town Council. None sent poll cards to residents.