Plans for the local elections in two weeks have been thrown into chaos and the results could be delayed for days because of widespread problems with new postal voting software, The Times has learnt.

Up to 100 councils are experiencing difficulties with software to scan millions of postal votes after new anti-fraud legislation. In some areas the systems have not even arrived.

The problems could lead to votes being discarded in error or false votes counted because the scanning equipment failed to work properly.

Most town halls are sending out postal ballot forms today. Electoral staff said they were crossing their fingers that they could read them electronically when the results start coming in after the ballot on May 3.

Some councils have already started drafting in extra staff to check votes manually if necessary, but say that this could delay the result by days.

It also emerged yesterday that ministers had ignored warnings of teething problems and demands for test runs.

David Monks, chief returning officer for England, said: “It is essential that we have the systems working by next week so that we can start processing postal vote applications. If not, returning officers will have severe difficulties and the results could be delayed.”

For the first time voters will be required to suppy their signature and date of birth when they apply for a postal vote. This will then be matched electronically with data on ballot papers.

But in several cases the necessary software or vital upgrades still haven’t arrived or have come very late. This means that councils have little or no time to test whether the system can correctly match identification data.

In some other authorities, the software has arrived but the staff have not yet been trained to use it. Some others do not have the capacity on their computers to run it.

Brian Dunleavy, election manager at South Bedfordshire, admitted that the council discovered only three months ago that they needed bigger servers on their computer to run the software. “We now have the systems but haven’t had time to train the staff.” He said staff would be trained in the next few days and he was “crossing his fingers that the system will work”.

The Government was forced to bring in new laws covering postal votes after widespread fraud in successive local and general elections.

Officials at the Department for Constitutional Affairs have already called in Pickwick, one of the main software suppliers, to ask them to speed up the process and sort out logistical problems.

The Electoral Commission issued guidelines yesterday to 300 councils on how to compare signatures if manual checking were needed.

John Turner, chairman of the Assocation of Electoral Administrators said that he had warned ministers last autumn that the new scanning system should be piloted this year, rather than run nationally.

“We wrote to ministers warning there were grave concerns about the reliability and practicability of this new innovation. We wanted the system to be properly tested to see how it would work in practice.”

Russell Osborne, of Northgate Information Solutions, conceded last night that there had been problems but said: “We are confident that all of the 75 local authorities that we are working with will be able to successfully electronically validate their postal votes using the electoral administration software.”

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