Voting in person

To vote in person on election day you will need to:

You can register to vote quickly via the government’s online portal. 

On election day, you will go to a polling station to vote. These are usually public buildings like a town hall or school. Before the election date, you will be sent a poll card showing where your polling station is. You must vote at this polling station.

Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm. Arrive between these hours and you will be allowed to vote.

At the polling station

Once you arrive at the polling station, the clerks will check your name and address. This is to ensure you are on the electoral register.

The poll clerk will then check your ID before handing you a ballot paper.

When this has been checked, the staff will hand you a ballot paper with options for who to vote for. You will then be asked to take your ballot to a polling booth, a private space where you can vote.

You should mark ‘X’ next to who you want to vote for. In some elections, you may be asked to vote for more than one person. Be sure to read the instructions on the ballot and around the polling station.

Fold your ballot and put it in the ballot box.

At the end of the day, votes will be counted carefully. Counting is a slow process because every ballot is hand counted and then verified to make sure mistakes aren’t made.

Find more information on voting in person at the Electoral Commission.

For more information about what happens after the polls close, read this guide from The Commons Library.