UK General Election 4th July – are you registered to vote? NON POLITICAL POST
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THIS IS A NON POLITICAL POST.
This is a general information post on registering to vote and some other voting issues. I’m not giving legal advice on eligibility to vote.
If you’re not registered then you can’t vote. And you must be registered in advance.
The deadline to register is Tuesday 18th June. This includes new registrations and re-registrations if you have moved.
If you can’t vote in person on the day then you can apply for a postal vote or arrange for a proxy to vote in your place. Even if you’re going to be at home anyone can have a postal vote or appoint a proxy.
UK citizens who live abroad can also vote in the constituency of the address they last lived in but they need to apply to the relevant local council to go on the register.
ID is required to vote in person. Check you have a valid ID (which includes passports and driving license). If you don’t then you can apply for a free “voter authority certificate”.
Last night I received an email from Brighton & Hove council confirming I was registered to vote and my address. As I have a postal vote it said I can expect to receive it around the 19th June. I’m sure other councils have already sent such emails or will do so quite quickly.
If you need to (re)register to vote or apply for a postal or proxy vote or a voter authority certificate then do it sooner rather than later.
Not only does it help the election administrators avoid a last minute influx of work it means any errors can be rectified before the deadlines.
For more information contact the elections department of your local council which will have all the info on their website (or will soon do so) on how to do any of these things and the deadline times and dates.
Hope this is useful.
Thanks for this! Do you mind if I copy and paste chunks of this, to forward on?
Also relevant (to this group, esp) – if you’re off on a lovely holiday on 4th July (or a less lovely work trip), the deadline to apply for a postal vote is 19th June. If you want to vote by proxy vote, the deadline for that is 26th June.
Any way to earn Avios on this?
You could travel to your polling station on IAG/oneworld airlines.
I wasn’t planning on being in the UK on that day and the winner in my constituency is 99% certain regardless of what happens, so I won’t be earning any avios
Any way to earn Avios on this?
Lobby your MP to allow higher interchange fee, now that we are out of EU?
On a serious note, good chance for people to get their address sorted in public records and avoid surprises when credit card applications get rejected.
Postal voting is really convenient for me and gets ‘voting’ crossed off the to do list ahead of time.
@Cat yes of course you can. It’s all public information.
You could travel to your polling station on IAG/oneworld airlines.
I wasn’t planning on being in the UK on that day and the winner in my constituency is 99% certain regardless of what happens, so I won’t be earning any avios
Same here! On July 4th I will be on holiday in a British Overseas Territory where loads of Americans will be celebrating Independence Day (go figure!)
Thanks OP. Registered twice already.
Great post!
As someone who has worked at Polling Stations for 38 years, can I add:
– if you have a postal vote, please post it in good time. Whilst you can drop it off, on the day, at your poling station, you are now required to complete a form and can not drop off more than 5 plus your own
– you can use an expired passport, as long as it’s fairly obvious it’s yours
– if you are someone who subscribes to the conspiracy theory that only pencils are supplied, so that votes can be changed, bring your own pen, quill, Sharpie or crayons – but don’t brag about it. It’s not the reason that pencils are supplied and we don’t care what you use to make your markAnd on that subject, it doesn’t matter what mark you use (a cross or X is preferred, though), as long as it is clear for whom you are voting. You can completely colour in the box, or put a tick in it, or your initials, even a cheeky little c*ck and balls
You could travel to your polling station on IAG/oneworld airlines.
I wasn’t planning on being in the UK on that day and the winner in my constituency is 99% certain regardless of what happens, so I won’t be earning any avios
Same here! On July 4th I will be on holiday in a British Overseas Territory where loads of Americans will be celebrating Independence Day (go figure!)
I’ll be in Las Vegas on 4th July, very bad planning on my part. So my postal vote will go unused, but my constituency is far from marginal so it’ll hardly matter.
Vegas on July 4th? Won’t that be carnage 🤷♀️😂
Vegas on July 4th? Won’t that be carnage 🤷♀️😂
Yes, as I said, bad planning. Trouble is that the LAS-MAN flight only had 3 options when I booked, and they were all pretty naf dates.
Hotel prices double around the strip from the 4th for the weekend so I’m splitting time between the HI Grand Vacation and the new Marriott English Hotel in the arts district.
While you will probably get away with putting your initials on the ballot paper, if you write your name or address, sign the paper, or write your elector number on the ballot paper, then it will be rejected.
It is best to stick to a cross or a tick.
One other point worth noting. If, on Polling Day, you can’t find your photo ID, you can apply to the elections office to appoint an emergency proxy. This applies up to 5pm. The proxy you appoint, who will vote on your behalf in accordance with your instructions, must produce acceptable ID.
So much for an attempt at a non political thread. There is always someone. 😕
And on that subject, it doesn’t matter what mark you use (a cross or X is preferred, though), as long as it is clear for whom you are voting. You can completely colour in the box, or put a tick in it, or your initials, even a cheeky little c*ck and balls
As someone who has taken part in previous general election count, and the recent mayor and London Assembly count, I don’t advise completely colouring in a box as it will likely have to be verified by the count supervisor which slows the process down.
However drawing willies on the paper, particularly against racist or similar, parties always amuses us on a boring but handy paid job for holidays spending!
But drawing a willie against a candidate is also likely to result in the paper being rejected for uncertainty.
Vegas on July 4th? Won’t that be carnage 🤷♀️😂
Yes, as I said, bad planning. Trouble is that the LAS-MAN flight only had 3 options when I booked, and they were all pretty naf dates.
Hotel prices double around the strip from the 4th for the weekend so I’m splitting time between the HI Grand Vacation and the new Marriott English Hotel in the arts district.
We’ve been in GCM on July 4th once before. Neither the mostly US tourists, nor the locals who lay on lavish celebration opportunities for them, seem to appreciate the irony of the fact that the Americans are celebrating their independence from Britain. Though many Americans don’t actually know that GCM is a BOT, and are very put out when they are told that driving is on the left, the US $ is not the official currency, and that it’s illegal to enter with firearms, ammunition and marijuana (sometimes after the event, when they’re outraged at being arrested and prosecuted for things they are free to do in Texas and New York 😂).
If you watch the Atlanta airport video I posted a few days ago, TSA reckon 225 loaded firearms per year at their checkpoints. Most of which are attempts by self rightous idiots who think a concealed carry permit gives them the right to bring it on the aircraft.
But drawing a willie against a candidate is also likely to result in the paper being rejected for uncertainty.
I also worked elections & counts for about 30 years, we would have rejected a willie, if it wasn’t clear who it was pointing at. Best stick to a cross. (Can’t believe I have just typed that).
It’s kicking off in Scotland a bit as this is at the start of the school holidays in many areas. Glasgow schools finish on 26th June. Fife, Stirling, & Edinburgh 28th June. With many families aiming to get away during the first fortnight when it’s considerably cheaper before the English holidays start. That’s what postal votes are for though.
But drawing a willie against a candidate is also likely to result in the paper being rejected for uncertainty.
I also worked elections & counts for about 30 years, we would have rejected a willie. (Can’t believe I have just typed that).
Also worked the counts in days gone by, we walked out one year because of the tantrums by the candidates. The Council booked in local bank cashiers like me to do the counts, and the candidates started complaining that the cashiers were sorting and counting the votes so quickly that they couldn’t keep up. For some reason the candidates thought we should be counting them out one at a time like the Post Office would to someone vulnerable. We were flicking the votes like cash (a counting method where you hold notes firmly tensioned in the left hand and “walk” the notes with the first three fingers of your right)
It was an absolute farce, the returning officer actually ordered the Police to stop us from leaving.
Never again.
Fascinating to hear some great stories from people at the coal face of electoral polling stations and counting.
As someone who has only ever used a postal vote for convenience, it makes me want to go to an actual polling station this year for the first time!
I’m still amazed at how no ID has ever been needed at previous elections. If an official thought they had seen someone coming back more than once to vote, was there any mechanism to challenge them? Or was it as open to abuse as it seems.
Vegas on July 4th? Won’t that be carnage 🤷♀️😂
Another one here in Vegas 4th July – Taking my daughter for a promised 21st Birthday trip. Just discovered that that is also the day she gets her final university results – good timing!
But drawing a willie against a candidate is also likely to result in the paper being rejected for uncertainty.
I also worked elections & counts for about 30 years, we would have rejected a willie, if it wasn’t clear who it was pointing at. Best stick to a cross. (Can’t believe I have just typed that).
I recently was a witness at a council election count on behalf of a friend. There was a big debate about one such ballot paper. Despite everyone being certain the voter’s intent was to make a graphic insulting protest against the candidate in question, the returning officer decided to accept it as a valid vote, as the picture was very neatly drawn within the square. So beware – if you want to make a point, make sure you properly spoil the ballot paper!!
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