Residents reminded of deadlines to register to vote and request a postal vote ahead of May’s local elections

Local elections will be held on Thursday, May 5 giving voters the opportunity to choose who will represent them on a local level.

Registered voters will be able to select councillors to represent their local area and oversee the delivery of council services.

In order to vote on May 5, residents must be on the electoral register.

People who are not registered at their current address need to register to vote by midnight tonight (Thursday, April 14). It takes just five minutes to apply online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Anyone wishing to register over the phone can call the Electoral Services Helpline on 020 8871 6023 (lines are open until 5pm).

If you have recently turned 18 or moved home, it is particularly important to make sure you are correctly registered to vote. If you were registered to vote in the last election and your details have not changed, you don’t need to take any action. If in doubt, you can check with the Electoral Services team on 020 8871 6023.

People can choose to vote in a number of ways – in person, by post or by appointing someone they trust to vote in their place, known as a proxy vote.

Voting in Person
Following last year’s boundary review, the location of your polling station may have changed. Anyone who wants to vote in person must visit their allocated polling station. To find out where your polling station is, please visit www.wheredoivote.co.uk or call 020 8871 6023.

Voting by Post
The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on April 19. If you want to vote by post, you can download an application form from www.wandsworth.gov.uk/postalvote. Once complete, your application can be uploaded here: www.wandsworth.gov.uk/uploadpostal.

Voting by Proxy
If your proxy would like your ballot paper posted to them, we must receive a proxy application (www.wandsworth.gov.uk/proxyvote) signed by the elector and a postal proxy application (www.wandsworth.gov.uk/postalproxy) signed by the proxy by 5pm on April 19. If your proxy can visit your allocated polling station in Wandsworth, the deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm on April 26.

Visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/ways-to-vote for further information.