Easy guide to

voting

Local

Elections

What are Local Elections? How do I vote?

Contents

What is voting?

How do I register ?

How do I vote ?

Are there any other ways I can vote?

Why should I vote ?

What is voting?

Voting is having the chance to have your say

about who you would like to run your local area.

This is called a local election or council election.

The vote is made without anyone else knowing who

you have chosen.

This is called a secret ballot.

How do I register ?

The electoral register is a list of names and

addresses of people who can vote.

You have to be on this list to be able to vote.

A form will be sent to you in the post.

You or someone else who lives with you has

to fill the form in with the names and

birthdates of all the people living in your

house.

You can also register at anytime by

contacting your local council.

You have to be 16years old or over to

register and 18years old or over

to vote.

How do I vote ?

The council will send you a card called a

polling card before the election.

The card tells you when and where to vote.

On the day of the election you will need to go

to the polling station. This could be a school,

church or community hall.

At the polling station give in your name

and address at the desk.

This is to check that you are on the register.

You will then be given a ballot paper.

This is a list of names of the people you can vote

for.

You will need to go into a polling booth.

This is where the voting is done so that no one

else will see your vote.

On the ballot paper put an x in the box next to the

name of the person you want to vote for.

Fold your ballot paper and put it into the ballot

box outside of the polling booth.

If you are unsure about anything ask a member of

staff at the polling station.

If you are not able to get to the polling station on

the day of the election there are 2 other ways

you can vote:

Are there other

ways I can vote?

Post

Anyone can choose to vote by post.

You will need to contact your local council so that

they can send you your ballot paper

Proxy

Proxy means getting someone you trust to vote

for you.

This would be because you have a special

reason why you cannot get to the polling

station.

The reason could be because you are on holiday

or are unwell.

You will need to contact your local council and

tell them you would like to vote by proxy.

The council will send you a form for you to fill

in and send back.

Why should I vote ?

It is important that everyone has a say in who is

elected in their local area.

This is because they make decisions that affect

everyone locally.

These decisions include:

Schools Hospitals

Libraries Social Care

Housing Waste disposal

Easy read version created by Harrow Mencap:

020 8869 8484

July 2013