General election 2024 information

Are you ready to have your say in the 2024 general election?

We want to make sure our residents have their voice heard, and this page includes some handy information that will help you get prepared for casting your vote on Thursday 4 July.

Election dates for your diary

📅 18 June: register to vote by 11:59pm  
📅 19 June: apply for postal vote or change/cancel an existing postal or proxy vote arrangement by 5pm
📅 26 June: apply for proxy vote by 5pm  
📅 26 June: apply for free voter ID by 5pm  
📅 4 July: polling day between 7am and 10pm

Registering to vote

However you plan to vote in the 2024 general election, you must be registered to vote by 11.59pm on Tuesday 18 June.

If you have registered previously, you only need to register again if you have since changed address or changed your name.

It only takes five minutes to register online and all you need is your National Insurance number.

To vote in the 2024 general election, you must be registered to vote and:

☑️ be 18 years old on or before the 4 July 2024 
☑️ be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen
☑️ be a resident at an address in the UK (or a UK citizen living abroad who has previously been registered to vote in the UK or has lived in the UK)
☑️ not be legally excluded from voting

Changes to postal and proxy voting

Can’t make it to a polling station on 4 July?

There’s still time to apply for a postal vote or to get someone to vote on your behalf (a proxy vote).

If you are applying for a postal vote, you may not receive the postal vote until 24 June.

There are also a number of changes that have been made to the way you can vote by post and proxy:

Changes in how to apply

1️⃣ Voters need to prove their identity when applying to vote by post and by proxy.

Changes in how to return your vote

2️⃣ Anyone bringing in a postal vote to our council offices will have to complete a postal vote return form. If they do not do this, the postal vote will be rejected.

This means you cannot put postal votes through our letterbox.

It therefore may be easier to send it in as soon as possible via a Royal Mail post box instead.

More information on these changes will be included with your postal vote. 

3️⃣ There is now a maximum number of postal votes that can be handed in, which is five plus your own.

4️⃣ Political campaigners are no longer allowed to hand in postal votes unless they all belong to close relatives or people they provide regular care to.

5️⃣ There is now a limit to the amount of people someone can be a proxy for. 

You can act as a proxy for two people. If you vote on behalf of UK voters who live overseas, you can act as a proxy for up to four people (but only two of those can live in the UK).

Voter ID

If you’re voting in person at a polling station on 4 July, you must show a valid form of photo ID to vote.

Accepted forms of photo ID include:

✅ Passport
✅ Driving licence
✅ Blue Badge
✅ PASS card
✅ Provisional driving licence
✅ Disabled or Older Person’s Bus Pass
✅ An accepted out-of-date photo ID if it still looks like you

The ID you bring to a polling station must be the original document – a scan or photo of your ID unfortunately won’t do.

Don’t have a valid form of photo ID? You can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) by 5pm on Wednesday 26 June.

Published: 14 June 2024

Source: canterbury.gov.uk