Elections for mayoralties, council seats in parts of England, and the Scottish and Welsh parliaments will be held on Thursday, May 7. The deadline to register to vote is tonight, Monday, April 20, at 11:59 PM. According to the Electoral Commission, Niki Nixon, Director of Communications and External Affairs, urged voters to register online before midnight to have their say in the local elections.
Voters normally only need to register once, but must register again if they have changed their name, address, or nationality. Registration can be done online on the UK Government website by providing a National Insurance number and address, or by completing a paper form sent to a local authority's electoral registration office. The authority must receive the registration before the deadline, and the only way to guarantee the ability to vote next month is to complete the five-minute online process.
For postal and proxy voting, applications must also be submitted by tonight. Postal voters need to apply by 5 PM on Tuesday, April 21, and proxy voters by 5 PM on Tuesday, April 28. No ID is required to vote in person in the Scottish Parliament or Senedd elections, but a valid photo ID, such as a driving license or passport, is needed for local elections in England.
Voting age varies across regions: it is 18 for local elections in England, and 16 in Scotland and Wales for elections to Holyrood or the Senedd. The number of people expected to vote and specific mayoralties and council seats up for grabs in England have not been disclosed. Additionally, measures to ensure the security of postal and proxy voting, and how different age and ID requirements might impact turnout, remain unclear.