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 would prefer to do this in private, please ask the staff.

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.

The polling station staff are there to help you. If you are not sure what you need to do, or if you need any help to cast your vote, please ask the staff. They will be happy to help you and can guide you through the voting process.

If you have a disability, there are some items available at each polling station that may assist you. There will be a large print sample ballot paper, a magnifying sheet and a Braille voting device to help if you have a visual impairment.

You can take your phone into the polling booth to help you if you use assistive technology such as text-to-speech apps, a magnifier or torch.

If you have a disability, a friend or relative is allowed to help you cast your vote. This will need to be recorded by the polling staff. You can also ask the Presiding Officer to mark the ballot paper for you.

Our polling stations are accessible and each polling booth has a wheelchair accessible compartment. However, if you are unable to access the polling station because of a physical disability, the Presiding Officer is able take the ballot paper to you.

If you would prefer to show your photo identification in private, for example, if you wear a face covering for religious reasons, ask the staff.

You can find out more about:

• Voting by post
• Voting by proxy