As returning officer for the Brighton and Hove City Council election, I wish to assure voters that the postal voting method is a safe and secret ballot.

No one will be able to identify a voter with his or her vote.

The elector number on the documentation is to safeguard against fraud and is a legal requirement.

Similarly, elector numbers were marked at the polling station when people voted in person. It simply is not possible to link names to votes given the administrative process involved.

Although the ballot papers are returned to the Electoral Reform Services, the official count will take place at the Brighton Centre on the evening of election day, May 1.

I urge everyone to exercise their right to vote and to return their ballot papers by post as soon as possible.

Late voters will be able to deposit their votes if they wish at Hove, Portslade and Brighton town halls from Monday, April 28, to Thursday, May 1, between 9am and 5pm.

-David Panter, chief executive, Brighton and Hove City Council