How to vote in the General Election 2019
20 November 2019
On Thursday 12th December 2019, the UK will hold a General Election and elect a new Parliament. See below for some useful resources on how to be involved in this election.
Find out why young people having their say is so important in this excellent blog from Harry Crumless, our Communications Officer. As each party releases their manifesto, we will be summarising the most relevant commitments for the youth sector, which you will be able to find here.
How to vote
You are able to vote if you’re over 18 on election day, live in the UK, and are a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen. If you are over the age of 16, you are able to register for the electoral roll, but you will not be able to vote until you turn 18.
To vote on election day, the most important thing is to be registered before Tuesday 26th November. This can be done online, but you will need to know your National Insurance Number. Register to vote here.
Young people who are voting for the first time, may find this accessible guide to voting helpful: Easy Read Guide to Voting in the General Election.
Other resources:
- If you’re not sure if you’re registered to vote, you should contact your local Electoral Registration Office.
- If you don’t have a permanent address, you can still vote. Find out how to register to vote without a fixed or permanent address.
- If you want to vote at a polling station, find out how to vote in person. Once you’re registered, you will be sent a polling card, which will tell you where to vote. Your polling station is the only place you can vote, and will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 12th December. Remember that you can still vote even if you’ve lost your polling card!
- If you’d prefer, you can post your vote without attending a polling station. Apply to vote by post before Thursday 21st November.
- If you can’t vote in person, someone can vote on your behalf. Apply to vote by proxy before Wednesday 4th December.
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