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Elections and Referendums

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Ways to vote

There are three ways that you can vote:

in person, at a polling station
by post
by proxy

You can only vote once in each election or referendum, unless you’re voting on behalf of someone else, known as a proxy.

Visit the Electoral Commission's website for more information on the different ways to vote.

If you’re voting by post or by proxy, you’ll need to complete an application form. You can get an application form by visiting the Electoral Commission's website or by contacting our Customer Services Team.

Voting in person

If you vote in person, you'll receive a poll card. Your poll card contains information including the address of your polling station. You can take your poll card with you to vote but you are not required to do so. You can also find your nearest polling station online.

You'll also need to provide photo ID at the polling station if you want to vote in person.

For more information on voting in person, you can visit the Electoral Commission's website.

Voting by post and by proxy

Information about voting by post and by proxy.

Voting by post

If you can’t make it to a polling station, you can apply to vote by post instead.

You’ll need to download an application form from the Electoral Commission's website to vote by post. Alternatively, you can contact our Customer Service Team.

There is now a limit to the number of postal votes that can be handed in by an elector at a polling station or council offices. This is five plus the elector’s own postal vote and a postal vote return form must be completed.

For more information about voting by post, including download the application form, you can visit the Electoral Commission's website.

Voting by proxy

If you can’t vote in person, someone else can vote for you, known as voting by proxy.

You’ll need to download an application form from the Electoral Commission's website to vote by proxy. Alternatively, you can contact our Customer Service Team.

Visit the Electoral Commission's website for more information about voting by proxy, including download the application form.

What to do next

Once you’ve completed an application to vote by post or by proxy, you’ll need to return it to the Electoral Services team by email at electors@swale.gov.uk.

Emergency proxy voting

In certain urgent circumstances, you may be able to appoint someone to vote for you, known as an emergency proxy.

You can vote using an emergency proxy when you can't get to your polling station because of unforeseen circumstances, including:

physical incapacity
work reasons
your photo ID has been lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged

Visit the Electoral Commission's website for more information about emergency proxy voting.

To appoint someone as an emergency proxy, you'll need to apply after 5pm, up to 6 working days before an election.

Other ways to apply

If you’d prefer to receive an application form to vote by post or by proxy, you can contact our Customer Services Team online. They’ll send you a form by post. Once you've completed it, email it to electors@swale.gov.uk.

For alternative ways to contact the Electoral Services Team visit our contact us page.