Cambridge voters are being reminded of the need to bring photo ID to the polling station to be able to vote in person in the local elections on this year.
The elections on Thursday 2 May this year will see councillors elected to each of the 14 wards on Cambridge City Council. On the same day there will also be an election for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Cambridgeshire.
Voters can take a variety of different photo ID in order to vote, including passport, driver’s licence, blue badge, older or disabled person’s bus pass, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) card and many more. For the complete list of acceptable forms of ID visit www.cambridge.gov.uk/voter-id-in-polling-stations
Anyone without an otherwise acceptable form of ID can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate either online (at www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate) or by post. This is a free photo ID document issued for the specific purpose of voting at a polling station.
The deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate for the elections on 2 May is 5pm on Wednesday 24 April.
People will not require photo ID to vote by post or if they have appointed a proxy to vote for them, although the proxy will need to bring their own photo ID.
Residents who have not yet registered to vote in the local elections on 2 May are urged to do so before this year’s deadline if they are not already registered.
Anyone wishing to vote in the elections on 2 May who is not already registered to vote can still register to vote online up until 11.59pm on Tuesday 16 April.
To register, people need to visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and have their National Insurance number to hand. The process should only take a few minutes. Residents already on the electoral register do not need to take any action, and should receive a poll card at the end of March.
Residents aged 18 or over on polling day can vote in these elections if they are a British, Irish, qualifying Commonwealth or European Union citizen, and have registered to vote in Cambridge. EU citizens can still register and vote in this year’s elections even though the UK has left the EU. Nationals of Hong Kong may register to vote in the UK if they hold a British Overseas Territories, British Nationals (Overseas) or British Overseas passport.
New rules come into force for the 2 May elections regarding how you return a completed postal vote. If you want to hand deliver your postal vote, you can only do this at the council offices at Mandela House, 4 Regent Street, Cambridge CB2 1BY or to a polling station in your ward on polling day. Anyone delivering their completed postal vote by hand will be asked to sign a form in the presence of a designated postal vote receipt clerk, meaning you must not put them through the council letter box. Any postal vote returned by hand must be accompanied by a signed form, otherwise it will be rejected under the new rules.
Robert Pollock, Returning Officer for the local elections, said: “I would urge anyone who has not registered to vote to make it a priority to do so. Your views matter and can positively influence your neighbourhood, local community, and the whole city. It is very simple to register. Just go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote to play a part in local democracy this year.
“Please remember to tell your friends and family that once again you will need to bring photo ID to polling stations on 2 May. Many people already have a driver’s licence, passport, blue badge, or another acceptable form of ID, but if you don’t, please apply for the Voter Authority Certificate. It’s easy to get and you can use it to vote again in future.”
People wishing to vote by post can apply to do so up until 5pm on Wednesday 17 April. People can appoint someone else to vote on their behalf by applying to vote by proxy up until 5pm on Wednesday 24 April.
