What to expect in a Polling Station

Before election day, you should have received your Poll Card through the post notifying you of the date of the election.  How far ahead your Poll Card arrives will depend on a number of things, including how much notice there has been of calling the election.  If your Poll Card has not arrived by about two weeks before, it’s good to check with the Elections Office of your local council in charge of the election.  Not receiving a Poll Card could mean that you aren’t registered to vote or, if you’re a student, your Poll Card could have gone to your home address and leaving it until election day will be too late to do anything about it.

Your Poll Card will include some important information and specifically which Polling Station you need to go to.  These can be schools, community centres or church halls that are being used just for the day and will probably only be a few streets away for those living in towns and cities.  It is important that you do attend the right Polling Station and don’t just turn up to another one expecting to vote.  You won’t be registered at any other station so will be turned away.

Polling Stations are open between 7am and 10pm on the day of the election.  The team running the Polling Station will have been there to set up early but are legally only allowed to give out ballot papers between those times.  Every Polling Station is different, but you can expect it to be a little busier at peak times of the day: some people like to vote early on their way to work, some will pop out at lunchtime whilst others may go when they collect children from school. If there is going to be a busy time at a Polling Station, particularly for something like a Referendum or a General Election which people tend to feel more strongly about, it will be after 9pm.  Legally, as long as you are in the queue to vote by 10pm, you will be allowed to do so but even a minute after 10pm and you won’t. It’s not very often that long queues form but, if you want to arrive when it’s not busy, don’t leave it until the last minute!

When you arrive at a Polling Station, there may be people with clipboards and party rosettes standing outside.  These people are called Tellers and are employed by the political parties to help keep track of how voting is going.  They might just say hello to you as you go in, but they will be more interested to speak to you on the way out.  After you have voted, they will ask you what your Voter Number is if you have your Poll Card with you and which candidate you voted for.  You do not have to tell them, voting in the UK is private, but you can if you choose to. This information can be where political parties get their ‘Exit Poll’ results.

Inside the Polling Station, you will be greeted by the small team, usually 2 or 3 people, who are running the station.  They will be sitting at a desk and they will ask you either what your Voter Number is if you have your Poll Card with you or what street you live in, and your full name.  They will then check to find you on their Register of Electors to check that you are registered at that Polling Station.  When they find your name on the list, they will issue you with a ballot paper or more than one ballot paper if more than one election is happening on the same day.

You will then be directed to a Polling Booth, usually a screened stand placed a distance away from their desk, so you can mark your ballot paper(s) in secret.  Pencils are provided in the booth, but you are welcome to use your own pen or pencil to mark the paper if you wish.  There will be a notice in the booth to explain how to mark your ballot paper if you’re not sure.  For example, at some elections, you just mark one candidate, but at others you might be ask to make a first and second choice.  If you are still not sure, please ask the Polling Station team and they will be very happy to help.  They will also have resources to help Voters with disabilities, too, so do ask them if you would like some support.

Traditionally, people mark their ballot paper with a cross X in the box, and that is probably the clearest instruction to the people who will be counting the votes later of your wishes.  However, if you tick a box, as long as your chosen candidate is clear, it will still be counted. But, if you really mess up, which is called ‘spoiling a ballot paper’, as long as you haven’t put your ballot paper in the ballot box, you can hand it back in at the desk and ask for another ballot paper instead. Don’t be worried about doing that; the Polling Station team will know what to do.

After you have marked your ballot paper(s), you will be directed to the ballot box and you ‘post’ your ballot in here.  There may be more than one box if there is more than one ballot paper but they will be clearly marked which is which. The box will have been checked and sealed at 7am for security reasons and those seals will not be broken until the papers inside are ready to be counted after the close of poll.

And that’s it – you have just voted!  You will probably only be in the Polling Station for 5 minutes at the most so it really is simple.

If you registered to vote by post, but didn’t remember to post it in time, you can hand your completed envelope in to your local Polling Station.  As long as it’s in my 10pm, it will still be counted.

If you know you will not be able to get to your Polling Station on the day, you can nominate someone to vote for you; this is called nominating a Proxy. You will need to notify your council Election Office in good time before the election to do this, and make sure your nominated person is aware of your wishes.  In an emergency, such as serious illness, you can request a Proxy on the day but it is important that you do this as early in the day as possible to ensure time for the Proxy details to be passed to your Polling Station.