Vote at your local polling station
If you are registered and eligible to vote in an upcoming election, we will send your official poll card to you about a month before polling day. Your poll card contains details of when and where you will need to go to vote.
For a full local election, national election and/or referendum, you will also be able to find this information by entering your postcode on the Where do I vote website.
Remember to bring your photo ID with you as you will need to show this to the polling station staff before you vote.
To help save time issuing ballot papers and updating our records, staff in many of our polling stations will be using electronic tablets instead of the traditional paper register. Staff will scan the QR code shown on your poll card, verify your details and will then give you your ballot paper. No data is permanently stored on the tablets and your vote will remain secret.
Once you receive your ballot paper, please read it carefully as you may be able to vote for more than one person.
There is no dress code when visiting the polling station and it is OK to wear garments that might obscure your face: for instance, hoodies or the niqab, but please bear in mind that you will need to remove any face coverings so that staff can verify your identity as part of the requirements for Voter ID, however.
We’re here to help
Our friendly staff at your polling station will be happy to answer any questions you have and will explain what to do if you’ve never voted before. You can also check out our guide for first time voters.
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 ask polling station staff for help, or you can bring someone with you. Anyone over the age of 18 can come with you to help you cast your vote. They don’t need to be eligible to vote in that election.
