What happens on Polling day?

Yes.   From May 2023 you do need to provide photo identification before you can vote at the polling station.  

You can find more information on Voter ID

Accepted forms of photo ID

If you’re registered to vote anonymously and want to vote in person, you’ll need to apply for an Anonymous Elector’s Document.

You can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate, if:

• you don’t have an accepted form of photo ID
• you’re not sure whether your photo ID still looks like you
• you’re worried about using an existing form of ID for any other reason, such as the use of a gender marker.

You need to be registered to vote before applying for a Voter Authority Certificate.

You can find more information on Voter ID

Accepted forms of photo ID

Applying for a Voter Authority Certificate

No.  You must vote at the polling station to which you have been assigned. Please check the details on your poll card to see which station you should be voting in. Find your Polling Station

I have lost my polling card and don’t know which polling station to go.  As long as you are registered, you do not need your polling card to vote, so if you have lost it, contact Wealden District Council on 01892 602417 and we will confirm your polling station location.

Enter your postcode to find your polling station

When you arrive at the polling station, a member of staff will:

1. Ask for your poll card, scan the QR code on the poll card and confirm your name and address. You do not need your poll card to vote, but it will speed up the process if you bring it along with you.
2. Ask for your photo ID and check it is acceptable
3. If your ID is acceptable, they will give you your ballot paper and direct you to complete it in a polling booth as usual

A privacy screen will be available in the polling station, so you can choose to have your photo ID viewed in private if you like.

Staff at the polling station are there to help. If you need help at any point, just ask.

Yes. Any voter who arrives at the polling station before 10pm and is still waiting to receive their ballot paper at 10pm will be able to vote. Legislation was changed in 2013 to allow this to happen.

Every polling station in the Wealden District has the following available:

• A device to enable blind or partially sighted voters to vote unaided.
• At least one large-print version of the ballot paper displayed inside each station to assist partially-sighted voters.
• Any voter with physical disabilities who is unable to vote without assistance or who is unable to read may be assisted either by a companion or by the presiding officer at the polling station.

See our page on Accessible Voting for further information.

Electors, candidates and agents are not allowed to use  electronic devices in polling stations.

At all elections, the hours of poll, ie when the polling station will be open, are from 7am to 10pm.

The law requires that every ballot paper has a unique serial number and that a record is kept of the serial number of every ballot paper that is issued to every voter.

At the close of the poll, the documents which list the serial numbers of the ballot papers and the list of to whom they have been issued are sealed in special packets and cannot be opened unless a court order to do so is obtained.

The reason this is done is to enable checks to be made should a legal challenge be made to the result of the election. It is possible in UK law for the result of an election to be challenged through what is known as an election petition.

It is possible for the eligibility of an elector’s right to vote to be challenged in the courts after an election. If the challenge is successful, the court can order that the ballot papers of any electors who were not eligible to vote be retrieved and their votes discounted, and the result of the election changed to reflect the removal of these votes from the total.

This is a very unusual occurrence.

There are legal processes in place to protect the identity of electors and how they have voted from being discovered. It is only in circumstances where a court orders that it should be done.

There is only a very short period in which a challenge can be made – 21 days from the date of the election, and if no challenge is made in that period, all documents are subsequently destroyed.

If you make a mistake whilst marking your ballot paper, you should ask the presiding officer for a replacement paper. Your spoilt ballot paper will be taken from you and will not be placed in the ballot box. However if you have already placed your ballot paper into the ballot box it is too late to change it.