Elections - postal or proxy votes

Proxy Vote

You can apply to vote by proxy if you are unable to go to your Polling Station on election day. A proxy is someone who will go to the polling station and vote with your authority on your behalf.  To apply to vote by proxy for a particular election you have to provide a reason, for example you will be away on holiday.

You can also apply to vote by proxy for all future elections, or for a set period of time, if you have one of the following reasons:

• you are an overseas or service voter
• you have a disability
• you are away from home because of your job or you are attending an educational course 

In all the above cases, except if you are registered blind, or you receive the higher rate of the mobility component of a Disability Living Allowance someone has to certify your application. For details of who may certify your application please contact Electoral Services.

You can request an application form using the contact details below.

Postal Vote 

Anyone aged 18 or over, whose name is included in the Register of Electors, can apply for a postal vote.  You do not need a reason to vote by post.

You can apply to vote by post for all future elections, or for a set period of time or for a particular election.

As part of the above processes, in order to make postal voting at elections more secure, all postal and proxy voters must provide a signature and their date of birth.

This information will be stored and used to compare against the signature and date of birth given on the security statement returned with your postal vote at future elections.