Voting

Who can vote

You can register to vote in the United Kingdom if you are:

16 years old or over. If you are 16 or 17 years old, you can be registered to vote but you will not be able to vote in an election until you turn 18 years old
a British, Irish, or qualifying Commonwealth citizen. If you are a citizen from a Commonwealth country, you can register if you have leave to enter or remain in the UK.
live at an address in the UK (or a British citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years).
not legally excluded from voting

How to register to vote

Registering to vote will let you have your say in local elections, General Elections and referendums. You only need to register once but if you move home or change your name you will need to register again using your new address or name.

To register to vote online, you need your National Insurance number and to visit the register to vote page on the GOV.UK website

If you can’t register online, you can download a paper form You’ll need to print, fill out and send the form to your local Electoral Registration Office.

If you or someone you know may need an easy read guide to registering visit the Easy Read page on GOV.UK website

You can register to vote anonymously if you’re concerned about your name and address appearing on the electoral register for safety reasons.

How to vote

You can choose which way you want to vote in elections

in person at a polling station,
by postal vote
ask somebody you trust to vote on your behalf (your proxy) by post or in person

Vote in person at polling station

When you are registered to vote you will receive a poll card prior to the election telling you where your polling station is located. The poll card also confirms that you are registered to vote so do not need to register again. You do not need to take your poll card with you when you vote but it can help to speed up the process if you do so.

Vote by post

If you know that you won’t be able to get to the polling station on polling day, you can vote by post. You can apply for a postal vote because you’re away on holiday or because your work schedule means you can’t get to polling station. You can also choose to vote by post simply because it would be more convenient for you.

You can apply for a postal vote using the Postal vote application form online or contact your local electoral registration office, You must return your completed form to your local electoral registration office. You will be a sent a postal vote ballot pack before the election.

Get someone else to vote for you

You can apply for a trusted person to vote on your behalf. You tell the person who you want to vote for and they vote for you. This is known as a vote by proxy. You can only do this if you are:

away from home on polling day
have a medical issue or disability which means you can’t vote in person
not able to vote in person because of work or military service

You can apply for a proxy vote online or by post. There are different forms depending on your reason.

Local Electoral Registration Office

If you have any issues, need help, or need support accessing voting documents you can get in touch with with your local electoral registration team. They can tell you if you’re on the electoral register, or if you’ve registered for a postal or proxy vote.

Electoral Registration Officer
Newcastle Civic Centre
NE1 8QH

Telephone: 0191 278 7878

Email: [email protected]

Things you need to vote

You’ll need photo Identity Documents (I.D.) to vote in:

UK Parliament by-elections
local elections in England (including councils, mayors, the Greater London Authority and parishes)
recall of MP petitions in England, Scotland and Wales
Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales
neighbourhood planning referendums and Business Improvement District referendums in England
local authority referendums in England (including Council Tax increase referendums)

Common photo I.D.’s used by people (Passports, driving licence, older person’s or disabled bus pass, blue badge) are accepted as proof of Identity. You can see a full list of accepted I.D. on the GOV.UK website

If you do not have a type of photo ID that allows you to vote, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate. It’s free to apply for this document

If you’re voting as someone’s proxy you’ll need to take your own ID when you go to vote on someone else’s behalf. You do not need to take theirs.

Voting in your local area

Newcastle upon Tyne has 26 Electoral wards. A ward is a local government area, mostly used for elections. If you are not sure which ward the area you live in belongs to, you can use the My Neighbourhood Tool and search using your postcode to find out. You can also find your closest polling station to vote using the tool.