To have your voice heard in May 7 General Election
The general election takes place on Thursday 7 May 2015.
To vote on 7 May not only do you need to be eligible, you also need to make sure you’re on the electoral register. The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 20 April 2015 but people are urged by Returning Officers and the Electoral Commission to register as soon as possible as there is no guarantee people will be registered in time to vote in the general election if they leave it until the deadline.
The English electoral registration system changed to a new system called Individual Electoral Registration in June last year.
Previously, voter registration was done by household. One person in a household filled in a form and entered the details of everyone who lived at a property. The people who were eligible, were then registered to vote.
Most people who were already registered to vote prior to the change, were registered automatically under the new system, but some people weren’t matched against these records and therefore cannot be transferred automatically to the new register. For example, they may have moved home since the record was last updated, or there may be a difference in the spelling of the two records.
If you are registered EU elector in the Earlsfield Ward, a poll card will be sent to you for the council by-election taking place on 7 May 2015. EU citizens who do not live in the Earlsfield ward are not eligible to vote in any elections taking place on 7 May 2015 and will not receive a poll card.
To be eligible to vote in the general election you must be a registered elector who is:
* resident in the constituency
* not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart)
* British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen (qualifying means you have leave to enter or remain in the UK or do not require such leave)
* of voting age
Citizens of the European Union (apart from those who are British, Irish, Maltese or Cypriot) are not eligible to vote in UK parliamentary general elections
If voting in person at your local polling station is not convenient for you, you can choose to vote by post.
You can only vote by post or apply to vote by post if you’re registered to vote. Check to see if you’re registered well before 20 April 2015 if you want a postal vote.
You can have a permanent postal vote or you can have one just for this election.
Postal votes can be sent overseas, but you need to consider whether there will be enough time to receive and return your ballot paper by election day.
The deadline to apply for a postal vote for the first time or to amend an existing postal voting or proxy voting arrangement is Tuesday 21 April at 5pm.
To apply for a postal vote, complete this form and return it to Electoral Services, Room 47, Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 2PU
If you are registered under the new system of Individual Electoral Registration by the time the register is published on 1 April 2015 and we had received your application to vote by post by Thursday 19 March, your postal vote will be dispatched around Friday 17 April.
If you lose your postal vote or do not receive it, a new one cannot be issued before Thursday 30 April 2015.
The postal vote has to be with the Returning Officer by the close of poll (10pm) on polling day.
If you decide to vote by post you will not be able to vote at a polling station but you can hand your postal ballot paper into a polling station in your constituency.
Timetable of key dates
Event | Time | Day |
---|---|---|
Dissolution of Parliament |
Monday, 30 March 2015 | |
Tuesday, 31 March 2015 |
||
First day to receive nominations |
10am to 4pm |
Wednesday, 1 April 2015 |
Poll card delivery |
Friday, 3 to Monday, 6 April 2015 (Easter Weekend) |
|
Last day to receive nominations |
4pm |
Thursday, 9 April 2015 |
List of candidates available |
4pm |
Thursday, 9 April 2015 |
First issue of postal votes sent to Overseas and BFPO electors | Monday, 13 April 2015 | |
Last day to register to vote |
Midnight |
Monday, 20 April 2015 |
Last day for new applications to vote by post or to change existing absent vote details (e.g. cancellation, redirection of ballot papers, etc.) |
5pm |
Tuesday, 21 April 2015 |
Second issue of postal votes sent | Friday, 24 April 2015 | |
Third issue of postal votes sent |
Monday, 27 April 2015 |
|
Last day for new applications to vote by proxy |
5pm |
Tuesday, 28 April 2015 |
First day to issue replacement spoilt or lost postal ballot papers |
Tuesday, 28 April 2015 |
|
(a) Fourth postal vote issue, (b) Proxy poll card letters issued, (c) Late registration poll card letters dispatched |
Wednesday 29 April 2015 | |
Bank holiday (Electoral Services office closed) |
Monday, 4 May 2015 |
|
Polling day |
7am to 10pm |
Thursday, 7 May 2015 |
Last day to issue replacement spoilt or lost postal ballot papers | 5pm |
Thursday, 7 May 2015 |
Last day for new applications to vote by proxy on the grounds of medical emergency or business proxy | 5pm |
Thursday, 7 May 2015 |
Count, Wandsworth Town Hall |
10.15pm |
Thursday, 7 May 2015 |
Election results |
Friday, 8 May 2015 |
In certain circumstances, you can appoint someone else to vote for you. This is called voting by proxy or a proxy vote, however you must have a valid reason for having a proxy vote such as a disability or working away.
You can have a permanent proxy or you can appoint a proxy for one election. If you make a permanent arrangement, you will need your doctor or employer to support your application. If you appoint a proxy for just one election, you do not need anyone to support your application.
The person you wish to appoint as your proxy can only act as proxy if they are registered individually for that election themselves. You can downlaod the appropriate form here. The deadline to apply for a proxy vote for the first time is Tuesday 28 April at 5pm.
If you are taken ill or get unexpected work commitments after the deadline for applying for a proxy vote which prevents you from attending the polling station on election day, you can appoint a proxy to vote for you. Again, you will need a doctor or employer to support your application.
The deadline to apply for an emergency proxy for the general election is 5pm on 7 May 2015 day and you can only apply for one if you became ill or discovered that you would not be able to go to a polling station due to work commitments after 5pm on Tuesday 28 April.
April 8, 2015