Tory leadership ballot: How Conservative members can change their minds as voting begins

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Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have clashed in July hustings after Boris Johnson stepped down. The Conservative Party membership – representing less than 0.3 percent of the UK’s total population – will decide his successor. They have a month to deliberate – but may change their minds after sending off completed ballots.

How can you change your Conservative Party leadership ballot?

The Conservative Party leadership contest has entered its next stage, with the vote progressing to party members.

They take up the responsibility from MPs when their ballots arrive over the next few days.

Approximately 150,000 should arrive on people’s doorsteps between August 1 and 5.

They will have around one month to make a final decision, with votes due by September 2.

Qualifying members will receive a “ballot pack”, including a paper postal ballot and instructions for online voting.

Officially, party advice states they can “only vote once”, but rules around duplicates allow them to change their minds.

If the party receives a second vote under the same name, only that one counts as their final decision.

The rules apply to online and postal ballots received by the party in the next month.

Officials introduced the second ballot rule during the 2019 contest, but only for ballots received via post.

Conservative officials have rejected the premise that people can vote twice, however.

A spokesman said the ballot packs “explicitly state” members may only get one vote, adding: “Should our ballot company receive a duplicate vote, only one vote will be counted.”

While the final leadership candidates will likely welcome the opportunity to sway already decided voters, some aren’t pleased.

Grassroots Tory activists have complained about the rule’s implication for party democracy.

John Strafford, chair of the Campaign for Conservative Democracy, told the Daily Telegraph the ability to cast two votes is a “complete distortion of democracy”.

He said voting in a democracy meant casting one ballot, and “that’s the end”.

Mr Strafford added that he couldn’t condemn the rules “strongly enough” while branding the election a “complete and utter farce”.

Regardless of internal protests, the second vote rule remains and may benefit one candidate more than the other.

Ms Truss is currently the out in front favourite to become the next Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister.

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