Manchester voters are being reminded of polling arrangements ahead of the city’s local elections which take place on Thursday 7 May.
Electors in all 32 wards across the city will be casting their votes, with one councillor in each ward – one third of the Council, which consists of 96 elected members – being chosen.
On election day, Thursday 7 May, polling stations will be open between 7am and 10pm.
Under national rules, electors will have to show approved photo ID such as a passport, photocard driving licence or other specified forms of photo ID, to be able to vote at a polling station. A full list of accepted ID can be found at Accepted forms of photo ID | Electoral Commission
If you do not already have one of the forms of accepted ID – or if the photo on your ID is no longer a good likeliness – you will need to apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) at www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate The deadline to apply for a VAC, in order to be able to use it in the 7 May local elections, is 5pm on Tuesday 28 April.
People who have requested postal votes are encouraged to complete and return them as soon as possible once they have been received. If they can’t post the completed postal ballot themselves, they should only ask someone they know and trust to post it for them. It is a criminal offence for candidates, party workers or campaigners to handle the postal vote of anyone who is not a close relative or someone for whom they provide care.
Postal votes can still be posted back on polling day – Royal Mail carry out a final sweep of post boxes and deliver postal votes to elections staff - as long as they are posted before the final collection time for that postbox. This only applies to postboxes within the Manchester area. If postal votes are posted after the final collection time, they will not arrive in time to be counted.
If you miss the post, you can hand in your postal vote at any polling station in the Manchester City Council area before 10pm.
Tom Stannard, Returning Officer for Manchester, said: “The arrangements that are in place on local elections day are there to ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote is able to do so.
“As there were no local elections last year, it’s worth reminding people that you have to bring accepted photo ID with you to vote at a polling station.”
The counts for Manchester’s local elections will take place on the morning of Friday 8 May.