𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

UK households planning to vote in the local elections may need to do one thing today – if they haven’t already. Elections are taking place across great Britain next month, with mayoralties and council seats up for grabs in parts of England, and elections to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.

All these ballots will be held on Thursday, May 7, with millions of Britons heading out to cast their votes. But though that’s still more than three weeks away, the cut off to be registered to vote is tonight (Monday, April 20) at 11.59pm. You normally only need to register once, with your details kept on file for subsequent votes. However, you will have to register again if you have changed your name, address or nationality.

Contact the electoral services team at your local council to find out if you’re already on their books. You can register online on the UK Government website by providing your National Insurance number and address. You can also sign up by completing a paper form and sending it to your local authority’s electoral registration office.

However, the authority must receive it before the deadline, so the only way to guarantee you’ll be able to vote next month is to complete the five-minute online registration process.

You’ll also need to apply by tonight if you want to cast a vote by post or proxy. Postal voters will then need to apply to do so by 5pm on Tuesday, April 21, and proxy voters will need to apply by 5pm on Tuesday, April 28.

You can register to vote up to two years before you reach voting age, though it’s worth nothing that voting age rules differ across the country.

Voting age for local elections in England is 18, and it’s 16 in Scotland and Wales for elections to Holyrood or the Senedd.

And while no ID is required to vote in person in the Scottish Parliament or Senedd elections, you will need one if you’re voting in in the local elections in England. This needs to be a valid photo ID, like a driving license or passport, BBC News reports.

Niki Nixon, Director of Communications and External Affairs at the Electoral Commission said: “If you want to have your say in the local elections in England this May, you must be registered before midnight tonight.

“It takes minutes, and you can do it online now at gov.uk/register-to-vote (Opens in new window). Anyone not registered in time won’t be able to vote on 7 May.

“If you want to vote by post or by proxy, you still have time to apply, but you’ll need to register to vote before the deadline tonight.”

You can find out more on the UK Government website.