Voting at a polling station

On Election Day, polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm, and you can vote at any time during this period.

If you are on the Register of Electors, you should receive a poll card towards the Election Day telling you where and when to vote.  The polling station is usually a school or local hall near where you live.  You may only vote at the polling station printed on your poll card.

The poll card is for your information only and you do not need to take it to the polling station in order to vote, although it is helpful if you do.

From 4 May 2023, all voters at the polling station will need to show an accepted form of photographic identification to be able to vote. A list of acceptable forms of ID can be found here.

What happens when I go to the polling station?

Voting at a polling station is very straightforward and there is always a member of staff available to help if you’re not sure what to do.

Usually there are two people at each polling station (a presiding officer and a poll clerk). But at busy stations there may be an extra poll clerk.

They will ask you for your address and will confirm your full name.

You will then be asked to show your photo ID. A private area to show your ID is available at every polling station. Please speak to a member of staff about this.

When the details have been confirmed a mark is made on the electoral register to show that you have voted, and you will not be able to vote again in the same election.

You will be handed a ballot paper, which lists all the candidates standing for election.

You should then go to one of the polling compartments and mark your ballot paper clearly with an X beside the candidate you wish to vote for.

The Presiding Officer is there to help you and you may ask for their assistance in marking the ballot paper. Any discussions will remain confidential.

If you make a mistake you can ask for another ballot paper but you must not place the spoilt paper in the ballot box.Instead you should hand this to the polling staff - explaining you have spoilt your vote. You will be given a replacement which, when you have voted, should be placed in the ballot box.

You should then place the ballot paper into the ballot box. Each ballot box will be taken to the count centre and counted with all the other votes from other stations being used for the election.