Elections will be held on May 4 for 19 out of the 20 wards of  Swindon Borough Council and seven parish councils on Thursday May 4

The parish council elections will be held at Central Swindon South, Chiseldon, Haydon Wick. Highworth, Stratton St Margaret, West Swindon, and Wroughton.

Here’s a guide to what you must do to be able to vote in these elections

You must be registered to vote

 British citizens, or Irish or EU citizens living in the UK, or Commonwealth citizens with permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need permission, who are over 18 can vote, but they must be on the electoral register.

Sixteen and 17 year olds can also register so they are on the list when they turn 18.

The deadline for registration to vote on May 7 is 11.59pm on Monday  April 17

Visit https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote to register

You must take an acceptable form of picture ID to vote in person

Once an eligible voter is registered they will be sent a polling card.

This will remind them in bold letters that all those who want to vote in person at a polling station must take an acceptable form of picture identification with them.

Those with no ID or with the wrong sort will be turned away, and the polling card is not good enough.

A passport, or a driving licence picture card is the most common form of acceptable ID but there is a list on Swindon.gov.uk

For those without any of those forms of ID a Voter Authentication Certificate is available which will allow them to cast their vote.

The certificate is free and can be obtained by applying to www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate by https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate

 You don’t need ID to make a postal vote

No ID is needed if you want to make a postal vote. You must be registered, and can obtain a postal vote by downloading an application form from https://www.swindon.gov.uk/downloads/file/4631/application_to_vote_by_post

You can also email elecreg@swindon.gov.uk or call the Electoral Services team on 01793 464601 and ask for a form to be posted to you.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote for the elections on 4 May 2023 is 5pm on Tuesday 18 April.

Your postal vote must be sent in in time to reach the returning officer before 10pm on election day.

Someone else can vote on your behalf

You can arrange to get someone else to go to the polling station to vote on your behalf, known as a proxy vote.

The proxy must be eligible to vote in this election, and they will have to show picture ID for themself to cast a proxy vote.

Apply for a proxy vote here: https://www.swindon.gov.uk/downloads/file/4632/application_to_vote_by_proxy

On election day

Your polling card will tell you where your polling station is.

Polling station will be open from 7am to 10pm.  If you are in the queue to vote by 10pm, but have not yet voted, you should still be able to vote.

You do not have to take your polling card with you, but it can save time in getting your voting paper or papers.

Do not forget to take your picture ID.

You must not take pictures inside the polling station or engage in any political campaigning or tell others how you are voting.

You can take your dog into the poling station, but keep them on a lead and make sure they behave themselves.

Results

Swindon Borough Council has not indicated whether voted will be counted overnight after polling stations close at 10pm or the next day.

Results will be made available as soon as they are announced.