How to vote

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Vote in person at a polling station

If you are voting in person, you must bring photo ID. Check the list of accepted forms of Voter ID on the Electoral Commission website.

If you’re registered and eligible to vote, you’ll receive a poll letter telling you where and when to vote.

You don’t need to bring your poll letter to the polling station.
If you don’t receive a poll letter, it’s best to check if you are registered.

What to expect at the polling station:

Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm
Provide your name, address and photo ID to polling station staff
If you’re registered, you’ll be issued your ballot paper(s) and this will list the candidates you can vote for
Go into a polling booth and follow the displayed instructions – you can use your own pen
Fold your ballot paper and put it in the ballot box

The Polling staff are able to help you, and there is also a range of support available for voters with additional needs. If you have any feedback or reasonable suggestions on how we can improve our existing offer, please contact Electoral Services.

Postal voting

You can apply for a postal vote for a single election or a period of up to 3 years. You do not need a reason to request a postal vote, however, if you need your postal ballot papers to be sent to an alternative address, you will need to supply a reason why.

A Postal Vote pack contains your ballot paper, security statement, instructions and two envelopes.

To apply for a Postal Vote, you will need the following:

To be on the electoral register
Your name, address and date of birth
National Insurance Number
Your signature (An image of your signature on plain, white paper if applying online)

Your signature will be stored securely so that we can match your signature when you return your postal ballot paper and security statement. If this information does not match, then your vote will not be counted.

If you cannot find or do not have a National Insurance Number, or it cannot be matched, you will be contacted by the Electoral Registration Officer for further information to prove your identity. If you cannot supply documentary evidence, then you will have to provide an attestation.

You must have completed an application to vote by post at least 11 working days before an election.

Apply for a postal vote

Your ballot paper pack will arrive in the post with instructions you must follow
On the postal voting statement, you must sign it and put your date of birth – this statement is scanned and will verify your identify
Cast your vote and mark your ballot paper, seal in the envelope provided
Place both the sealed envelope (containing your marked ballot paper) and the signed and dated security statement into the outer envelope; and seal.
Please post your vote back as quickly as possible to make sure it’s counted
If you miss the return date deadline, you can still take your vote to the polling station by 10pm

If your postal vote is spoiled – do not throw it away.

To get a replacement you need to contact Electoral Services 01472 324160 and they’ll need your spoiled paper before they can issue a new one.

Find a step-by-step guide at: How to vote by post by the Electoral Commission.

If you already vote by post and something changes (like your name or address), it’s important that you apply for a new postal vote.

Rules

Political campaigners will be banned from handling postal votes, except where the postal vote is their own, that of a close family member, or someone they provide regular care for.
They are not banned from handling postal votes if they do so in the course of their usual duties (for example, if they work for Royal Mail).

If found guilty of handling postal votes as a campaigner, a person could face a fine and/or imprisonment up to two years.

There will be a limit on the number of postal votes a person can hand in at a polling station – they will not be allowed to hand in more than five postal ballot packs for other electors plus their own.
If a person hands in more than five postal ballot packs for other electors, all the postal votes (other than their own) will be rejected.
If there is reason to suspect that a person has already handed in the maximum number of postal votes on any previous occasion at the election, any subsequent postal votes handed in will be rejected.

Anyone handing in postal votes at a polling station will need to complete a ‘return of postal voting documents’ form.
The person handing in the postal vote(s) will need to complete the form with their name, address and the reason for handing in other people’s postal votes (where appropriate).
They will also need to complete a declaration that they are not handing in more than the permitted number, and that they are not a political campaigner.
If the form is not completed with all the required information, or to the authorised officer’s satisfaction, the postal vote(s) will be rejected.
Rejected postal votes will not be included in the count.
After the election, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) will write to electors who have had their postal votes rejected, telling them why.

Postal votes will not be accepted if they are simply left at a polling station.
If a person hands in postal votes without completing the ‘return of postal vote documents’ form, the ‘left behind’ postal votes must be rejected.
After the election, the ERO will write to electors who have had their postal vote rejected .

Electors sometimes hand postal votes in directly to the Returning Officer in advance of the election, and on polling day itself.
The same restrictions, limits, and requirement to complete a form which apply at polling stations, will also apply to postal votes handed to the Returning Officer or at council offices.
We will accept postal votes handed in personally at Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, DN31 1HU but will require people to sign a form.
Postal votes handed in at any other address will not be accepted as there will be nobody present to provide and sign the return of postal voting documents form.
Any postal votes which are left at any council building without the ‘return of postal voting documents’ form being completed will be rejected.
We cannot accept any postal votes which are left in the council mailbox, or which are put in the internal mail system.

The secrecy requirements which apply at a polling station are being extended to postal and proxy votes.
It will be an offence to try to find out how someone has voted when completing their postal vote, or to communicate how a postal or proxy voter has voted.
Anyone found guilty of breaching the secrecy requirements could face a fine or imprisonment up to six months.

Proxy voting

A proxy vote is when you appoint someone you trust to vote on your behalf if you’re unable to go to the polling station in person.

To apply for a proxy vote, both yourself and your trusted appointed person must be on the Electoral Register.

Apply for a proxy vote

A proxy vote arrangement can be in place for one of the following:

an indefinite period
a definite period
a particular poll

Everyone is entitled to apply for a proxy vote for a specific election. However, if you’re applying for a definite or indefinite period, you must provide a valid reason.

Accepted reasons:

Blindness
Other specified disability
Occupation, employment, service, or attendance on a course (details required)
Registered as a service voter or overseas voter
Registered as an anonymous elector
Travel by sea or air is necessary to reach your polling station from your registered address

In some cases, you may also need to provide an attestation to support your application.

An emergency proxy allows you to appoint someone to vote on your behalf after the normal proxy deadline has passed, but only in specific, legally defined circumstances.

You may apply for an emergency proxy up until 5pm on polling day.

You must have experienced an emergency after the standard proxy deadline, which is usually 5pm, six working days before the election.

Who Can Be Your Proxy?

Your proxy must be registered and eligible to vote in the election.

A person can act as proxy for up to four people, but no more than two can be domestic electors (i.e., not overseas or service voters).

Valid Reasons for an Emergency Proxy

You can apply if any of the following happened unexpectedly:

1. Medical Emergency – A sudden illness or medical issue that prevents you from voting in person.

2. Work‑Related Emergency – You are unexpectedly required to work, or your work situation changes after the normal proxy deadline.

3. Lost, Stolen, Damaged or Destroyed Photo ID – If your voter ID is lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged after the deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate, you may apply for an emergency proxy.

How to Apply

You must complete the appropriate emergency proxy application form:

Medical emergency form – Application to vote by emergency proxy in England based on disability

Work/employment emergency form – Application to vote by emergency proxy in England based on occupation, service or employment
Lost/damaged ID emergency form – Application to vote by emergency proxy based on photo ID

Forms must be returned to the Electoral Registration Office by 5pm on polling day. The form must have a ‘wet’ (not digital) signature, but we can accept scanned images over email.

Frequently Asked Questions

In order to vote in the next election you need to be registered. (Register to vote – GOV.UK)

Yes, you can apply for an absent vote (postal or proxy vote). Please check dates and deadlines to ensure you don’t miss out. You may also be eligible for an emergency proxy vote.

You may be able to apply for a proxy or emergency proxy vote.

There is no legal requirement for ballot papers to be marked with a pencil. Pencils are provided inside polling booths, however pens are available from the Presiding Officer or voters can choose to use their own pen.

Pencils have traditionally been used for practical reasons: with ink pens there is always a risk that they may dry out or spill; and wet ink may cause some transfer of the mark the voter has made on the ballot paper when they fold it, potentially leading to their vote being rejected if, for example, it looks like they have voted for more candidates than they are entitled to.

Yes, you can. Poll cards are delivered for information. You do not need to take it with you to vote.

However, if you do not receive a poll card, please contact the Electoral Services team to check if you are registered.