Arrests, appeals and AWOL ballots

Two men have been arrested in connection with allegations of postal vote fraud in Bradford - it's unclear if this is to do with the same allegations that were reported here yesterday. (Update: The Yorkshire Post reports that it is a separate enquiry).

Meanwhile, one of the councillors in Birmingham, Muhammed Afzal, has been cleared of vote fraud charges, but the ruling that the other two engaged in illegal practices stays.

Meanwhile, the reliance on printing contractors to handle distribution (as well as production) of postal ballots has caused further problems - in Macclesfield and nearby Tatton, 2,400 papers have not been sent out correctly, and are having to be reprinted. In addition, hundreds of envelopes meant for Windsor have ended up being sent to Skegness. The Times also reports of missing papers in Hereford, and of 2,500 duplicate papers being sent out in Oldham West & Royston.