Voting at the polling station

If you are registered to vote you will receive a poll card shortly before an election. This will tell you where your polling station is, what day the election is being held and other election information. Your polling station is most likely be a church hall, community centre or school near where you live.

If you are unsure about which polling station you should go to, please use this guide.

You will need to provide photo ID when voting at a polling station. More information about the photo ID requirements is available on our dedicated Voter ID page.

On election day, go to the polling station shown on your poll card, which will be open from 7am to 10pm. Tell the polling staff your name and address – they will check that you are on the electoral register. Your poll card may help with this.

You will also need to show photo ID to confirm your identity to the staff. If you wear a face covering for religious or medical reasons, the ID check can be completed in a private area or outside. Just ask the staff if you need any assistance.

Once your details have been checked, you will be given a ballot paper listing the candidates you can vote for. You may be given more than one ballot paper if there is more than one election on the same day.

Take your ballot paper into a polling booth, read it carefully, and mark a cross (X) next to the candidate(s) you wish to vote for. Do not write anything else on the ballot paper or your vote may not be counted. Do not let anyone see your vote. When you have marked your vote, fold the ballot paper in half and put it into the ballot box.

If you are unable to vote in person you can apply to vote by post or you can appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf.

Sometimes, political campaigners will be present outside of the polling station. They are referred to as tellers. They may ask for your name and address to identify who has voted.

You do not have to give them any information unless you want to.

All official staff at the polling station wear a name badge. Any steward outside of the polling station will be wearing a high visibility vest and will be happy to provide assistance.

Find out more about the things we do to make sure that our polling stations are accessible. Visit our accessible voting page.

You can find out more about:

• Voting by post
• Voting by proxy