electoralcommission.org.uk Voting In Person : United Kingdom Electoral Commission

Organisation : United Kingdom Electoral Commission
Facility Name : Voting In Person
Country : United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales)
Website : https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voting-person

UK Election Voting in person

To vote in any election in the UK, you must be registered to vote. If you happen to be in the UK on polling day, you can vote in person at your polling station.

Related / Similar Facility : UK Electoral Commission Proxy Voting

If you have a postal vote, you won’t be able to vote at the polling station, but you can hand in your completed postal ballot at the polling station.

If you have a proxy vote, you will only be able to vote at the polling station if your proxy hasn’t already voted on your behalf.

Your Polling Station

When you vote in person, you go to the polling station allocated to you based on your address on the electoral register. This will be the address you used when you registered to vote as an overseas voter (which will be the UK address where you were last registered to vote).

Before you go to vote, check where your polling station is. You have to go to your polling station, and you can’t go to a different one. If you’re registered as an overseas voter, you won’t receive a poll card.

Find Your Polling Station

Enter your postcode (of the address you used when you registered as an overseas voter) to find out where your polling station is. Your polling station information will be available approximately two weeks before polling day.

Find Your Polling Station Here : https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voting-person

Opening Times

Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm on polling day. They can get busy, particularly towards the end of the day. If there’s a queue at your polling station, you’ll still be able to vote as long as you joined the queue before 10pm. If you need help getting to your polling station, you can contact your local council.

How To Vote In Person?

** Check where your polling station is, and go to vote between 7am and 10pm on polling day.
** When you get to your polling station, tell the polling station staff (or poll clerk) your name.
** The staff will then give you a ballot paper listing the candidates you can vote for. You might be given more than one ballot paper if there is more than one election taking place in your local area on the same day.
** Take your ballot paper (or papers) to a polling booth, so that you can cast your vote in secret.
** Read the instructions on the ballot paper carefully. Some elections use different voting methods, so you need to make sure you fill in each ballot paper correctly.
** Complete your ballot paper using the pencil provided in the polling booth. You can also use your own pen if you want to. Don’t write anything else on the paper, or your vote may not be counted.
** If you make a mistake, don’t put your ballot paper in the ballot box. Ask the poll clerk for a replacement ballot paper, and fill it again.
** Once you’re done, fold your completed ballot paper and put it in the ballot box.

Taking Photos

Taking photos inside the polling station isn’t allowed as it might risk the secrecy of the ballot. You are more than welcome to take photos outside the polling station, and share them on social media to encourage your friends and family to vote.

Asking For Help

If you’re not sure what to do, or need any help, just ask the staff at the polling station – they will be happy to assist you to cast your vote.

There are a number of things at the polling station to help you cast your vote, including a large print sample ballot paper, and a tactile voting device to help if you have a visual impairment.

If you want to, you can take your phone into the polling booth to use magnifier or text-to-speech apps, or the phone torch to improve lighting. When using your phone, don’t take any photos inside the polling station.

You can also ask polling station staff to help you, or you can bring someone with you to help (if they’re over 18 and eligible to vote in the election).