ELECTION officials today moved swiftly to clear up confusion over postal votes, after residents complained they had been barred from the poll booth.

Concerns were raised by York residents who received letters telling them they had asked to vote by post.

Gerald and Sylvia Rooke, from Coppergate, initially said they had no recollection of making this request and, amid national fears about post vote security, thought City of York Council had made a mistake.

However, Guildhall officials said the couple did ask to vote by post - during last summer's first all-postal European Election ballot.

Mrs Rooke told them she did recall filling in a form from a canvasser during that campaign. But she had no idea it would tie her to postal votes for three years and effectively bar her from the voting booth for the 2005 General Election.

The semi-retired property manager said: "We don't want to vote by post in the General Election. We had to last year - everybody did - but we want to go to the ballot box like we normally do."

Pensioner Mary Ferry, from Acomb, also received a similar letter from the council, but she has no recollection of filling in a postal form request.

The council said they have the forms that prove she did, but Mrs Ferry, 82, said: "I want to change it because I've always gone to the polling booth."

Elizabeth Ellis, the council's electoral manager, said signatures on postal applications in the two cases matched registration documents.

"They have probably forgotten they have signed it and then after the postal pilot expected things to revert back," she said

Mrs Ellis said the deadline for cancelling postal votes had now passed and the letters informing people they had opted for this method went out last week.

Copies of the forms would be sent to both complainants, the council said, and they could contact the police if they had any suspicions about the signatures.

But she said postal voters could still hand deliver their ballot paper to the Guildhall.

A total of 7,350 postal applications have been received, compared to 2,500 in 2001. Mrs Ellis stressed staff were fully trained to spot any bogus requests.

Richard Besley, elections officer at Selby District Council, echoed advice not to waste votes.

His council has received 8,000 postal vote requests - 5,000 of them after the Euro poll.

He said: "We're dealing with more postal votes this year than ever before; which is probably down to last year's all-postal ballot.

"A number of people have contacted us with concerns about posting back their ballot paper.

"If anyone would prefer to hand their postal ballot to the council in person, they can now do so."

Updated: 10:34 Thursday, April 21, 2005