| If your name is on the Register of Electors and you are aged 18 or over, you should receive an official poll card for the election about a week before polling day. The poll card tells you where and when you can vote. On the back it tells you how to vote, but the card is just for information and you will not need it to vote. It just makes it easier if you take it with you to the Polling Station and show it to the staff on duty there. They will check that you are on the register and give you a ballot paper which they will stamp with the official mark.
A statement across the top of the ballot paper tells you how many candidates you can vote for. In Parliamentary Elections you can vote for one candidate only. At some Council elections you may be able to vote for more than one.
Take the ballot paper to one of the booths and mark your vote. Use the pencil in the booth to put a cross (X) in the box next to the name of the candidate (or candidates) you want to vote for. Do not write anything else on the ballot paper or your vote may not be counted.
Once you have voted, fold the ballot paper and take it back to the table where the staff are. Show the folded ballot paper to the staff so that they can see the official mark but do not show them or anyone else how you have voted. Then put the ballot paper in the ballot box and leave the polling station.
Information about other ways to vote. |