Deadlines looming for May elections - don't lose your voice

With less than a month to go until polling day, Wokingham Borough Council is encouraging residents to be prepared and know about the upcoming deadlines to ensure they don’t lose their vote.

Local elections are being held on Thursday 2 May, with all 54 seats on the borough council being contested. There is a Police and Crime Commissioner election on the same day.

To take part in any of these elections, you must be registered to vote. The deadline to register is 11.59pm on Tuesday 16 April and it takes five minutes to do this. You will be asked for your National Insurance number, but you can still register even if you don’t have one.

It is important to remember that you must bring suitable photo ID in order to vote. Although voter ID was introduced last year, not all wards had elections in 2023 and for many people this will be the first time they have needed to bring it.

Accepted forms of ID include a passport, full or provisional driving licence and blue badge. A full list of accepted ID is available on the Electoral Commission’s website. If you don’t have ID you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate (VAC). If you applied last year, you do not need to apply again this year. The deadline to apply this year is 5pm on Wednesday 24 April.

Expired ID will be accepted, as long as you still look like the photograph on the document. If you turn up without suitable photo ID, you will not be issued with a ballot paper. Bringing your poll card alone will not entitle you to vote.

Postal and proxy voting

Absent voting allows you to vote in an election by post or by proxy if you are unable to vote in person at the polling station on the day. For example, you may be unable to vote in person if you are at work, on holiday or have a medical condition or disability that makes it difficult.

You can now apply for a postal or proxy vote online. Remember, the deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on Wednesday 17 April and for a proxy vote is 5pm on Wednesday 24 April.

Postal vote applications will now be valid for three years - previously five years - but current postal voters do not need to re-apply and will be contacted by January 2026.

For all elections, there will now be restrictions on the handling of postal votes. Voters will not be allowed to hand in more than five postal ballot packs (in addition to their own). Political parties and campaigners will be banned from handling postal vote packs.

If you are a postal voter, once received, you should complete and return your ballot paper pack as soon as possible using a Royal Mail post box.

If you miss the post, you can hand it in at the Council Offices, Shute End, Wokingham (during office hours) or your polling station on election day. Choosing to hand in your postal vote will mean that you must complete an additional form with an authorised member of staff. If you do not, your postal vote will be rejected. 

For people choosing to vote via post, the first batches of postal votes will be sent out from Tuesday 16 April, so keep an eye out for it.

How to vote anonymously

If you are concerned that your safety would be at risk if your name or address were listed on the electoral register, you can register to vote anonymously by downloading and completing an application form from the Electoral Commission website. 

Due to the new requirement to bring photo ID to vote at a polling station, residents who register to vote anonymously, or who plan to register to vote anonymously, will also need to apply for an anonymous elector’s document (AED).

Anonymous registrations only last for one year, so you must ensure you apply every year to ensure you don’t lose your vote.

AED applications need to be submitted before 5pm on Wednesday 24 April and the AED will need to be brought to the polling station. This means you do not need to show an additional form of photo ID when voting.