Vote in the 2023 Local Elections – polls are now open!

If you are eligible to vote, you have until 10pm to cast your ballot at your local polling station – just remember to bring your photo ID or Voter Authority Certificate with you – will not be able to vote without it.

All eligible voters can vote in the district council elections. Residents in some areas will also be able to vote in parish or town council elections.

By voting in this election, you will help to choose local councillors to make decisions on important issues, such as where we should focus our efforts locally to help tackle climate change, where and how new housing gets built, how we work to ensure there’s enough affordable housing and much more.

For all the information you need, including where you should go to vote, who you can vote for, information for postal voters and much more, please see below.

New for 2023 – to vote at the polling station in this election you must bring photo ID!

If you are voting at a polling station on 4 May, you must bring your photo ID or Voter Authority Certificate with you, otherwise you will not be permitted to vote.

To view the full range of photo ID that will be accepted, please visit the Electoral Commission’s Voter ID information page.

Please note, applications for the Voter Authority Certificate, which can be used if you don’t have the accepted photo ID, have now closed.

To vote in this election you must:

be registered to vote – please note, the registration period for the 2023 local elections has now ended
be 18 or over on the day of the election
be a British, Irish, Commonwealth or EU citizen
be registered at an address in the area you want to vote in
not be legally excluded from voting

Who can you vote for?

You can find out who you can vote for in the district and parish elections by using our postcode search.

Alternatively, you can also find this information for the district election on the Democracy Club’s ‘Who can I vote for’ website.

If you wish to see the full list of all the candidates standing in every ward, please go to the:

Voting at a polling station? Find out where you need go

All registered voters should have received a polling card through the post confirming where you need go to cast your vote on Thursday 4 May. If it hasn’t arrived, you can call 01235 422528 to check you are still registered.

You can also find out where you should go to cast your vote on polling day by using our postcode search, or by using the Democracy Club’s ‘Where do I vote?’ website.

To find out more, visit our page about voting at your local polling station.

Remember, your vote is yours, and yours alone. It doesn’t belong to anyone who intimidates you, tries to bribe you, or pretends to be you. If someone tries to take your vote, or the vote of anyone you know, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via the Crimestoppers’ website.

Information for postal voters

Applications to vote by post in this election and requests for replacement postal voting ballots have now closed.

If you’ve not sent your postal ballot pack back to us, do not put it in the mail as it will not arrive in time – instead, please deliver it by hand to any polling station within the district before 10pm.

Proxy voting

Applications to vote by proxy and for emergency proxy votes have now closed.

If you need to enquire about a confirmed proxy vote, please email elections@southandvale.gov.uk or call 01235 422528 as soon as possible.

Are you a first-time voter?

If this is the first time you will be voting, you can find lots of useful information in our guide for first-time voters. This includes all about how elections work, how you vote and what happens at a polling station.

How to find out the election results

We’ll be counting the votes on Friday 5 May 2023, you will be able to follow the results on this page and via our elections results service on Twitter – @southoxvotes.