Your Right To Vote

SMBC and Opportunities Together have a Resource Hub with information about voting. Pop in to our Resource Hub Wednesday 24th April anytime between 10.30am to 2pm. 

Opportunities Together Resource Hub (LDRC)
8 Owens Farm Drive
Offerton SK2 5EA
Tel 0161 419 9644

This is a really important year for having your say. I expect the next General Election will happen in the autumn, and for many of us local elections will take place on the 2nd of May. As with last year’s local elections, you’ll need to bring photo ID with you to the polling station.

With elections coming up, check you have the right photo ID and remind your friends and family of the changes.

What you need to know

• Check you have the right photo ID
   There is a wide range of accepted ID you can use, such as your driving licence, bus pass, passport and Blue Badge. You can check the full list on the Electoral Commission’s website here.
• These don’t even need to be in date, as long as the photo on that ID still looks like you and has the same name on it that you registered to vote with.

What to do if you don’t have the right ID

• If you don’t have any ID on the list, don’t worry! If you are already registered to vote, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate.
• This can be done online or by post, just make sure you do so by 24th April.
• Your local council can help you take a photo if you’re struggling, and you can also call the Electoral commission helpline at 0800 328 0280 for any extra support.
• The great thing about a Voter Authority Certificate is that if you got one last year, you can use it again – and for the upcoming General Election too.

If you don’t want to vote in person
You can apply to vote by proxy by 24th April, which doesn’t require you to have photo ID, just your National Insurance number.

There is lots of useful information that can be found on Age UK’s website too.