Have your say on 4 May

Ensure you are registered to vote and have your say in the local elections on 4 May.

Local government elections select councillors, responsible for making decisions on running services in your local area, including social care, education, housing, transport, planning, parks, leisure, public safety and waste management.

To be able to vote in these elections, residents must be on the electoral register.

The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 17 April. Anyone can apply via the gov.uk website  – and it takes just five minutes. 

If you’re not registered by 17 April, you won’t be able to vote.

Registered voters will need to provide valid ID to cast their ballots in person at polling stations. If you’re of voting age, ensure you are registered to vote and check you have valid ID, as required by new central government legislation.”

Voter ID is not necessary for those voting by postal ballots.

People can check that they have an accepted form of ID via the Electoral Commission website. Anyone who does not have one of the accepted forms of ID will be able to apply for free ID online via the gov.uk website, or can complete a paper form, before the deadline of 5pm on Tuesday 25 April.

If you were registered to vote in the last election and your details have not changed, you will still be registered to vote. If in doubt, check your details by giving Cheshire East Council a call on 0300 123 5016.

The deadlines to apply for a postal vote or a proxy vote are also looming:

• The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on Tuesday 18 April. Completed forms must be received by the Cheshire East Council elections team before this deadline.
• The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm on Tuesday 25 April. Completed forms must be received by the Cheshire East Council elections team before this deadline.

Remember: registering to vote does not mean you have to – it just means you don’t lose out on the opportunity to do so.

On election day, Thursday 4 May, polling stations will be open between 7am and 10pm. Information about voting at this election is available on the Electoral Commission’s ‘voter’ webpage. 

Polling cards will be delivered to all registered electors later this month.