How to vote by post
If you do not want to go to the polling station in person, you can ask to vote by post.
A postal vote means that you are sent the ballot paper to complete at home and will need to send it to your local council using the pre-paid and addressed envelope they provide.
If you are already registered to vote you can find out how to register for a postal vote on this My Vote My Voice webpage.
If you are not registered to vote, visit this My Vote My Voice webpage to find out how to register.
Voting by post means:
- You can vote before voting day
- You don’t have to go to the polling station
- You can take more time to complete your vote.
You might want to vote by post if:
- You are going to be busy on voting day
- You might not have someone you trust to support you at the polling station on voting day
- You want to avoid travelling, queues and crowds of people
- You might feel uncomfortable or pressured at the polling station.
How to vote by post
About 2 weeks before polling day you will be sent your postal vote. Your postal vote will have 2 parts. A postal vote statement and your ballot paper.
You will also receive instructions. You can get help to read these and to vote.
Write your date of birth and sign the paper.
Put a X in the box next to the person you want to vote for.
Its ok if you make a mistake you can scribble it out and change it.
Put the statement and ballot paper in the return envelope.
Put this in your local letter box.
You have to vote by post before voting day. There is a deadline and it will be on the instructions that came with your postal poll card.
Try not to miss the deadline.
If you do miss the deadline you can take your completed postal poll card to your local polling station on voting day.
You need to register to vote by post
You need to be registered to vote if you want to vote by post.
When you are registered to vote you need to tell your local council that you want to vote by post. This is called registering for a postal vote.
There will be a deadline to register for the postal vote before each election.
If you are not registered to vote, visit this My Vote My Voice webpage to find out how to register.
Preparing to vote by post links and resources
It is important to think about who you want to vote for and what you will do to vote before voting day.
