What to do to have your say this May

The thirteen councillors elected on 4 May – one from each of the 13 wards across the city – will join the 26 other elected members, to collectively make up the council of 39 members.

Louise Rawsthorne, Returning Officer said:
“Voting in a local election is an important way to affect some of the issues that matter most to you. You are selecting the people who ultimately decide council policies and set the budget for local services.

If you want to have your say this May, please take a few minutes to see what you need to do.”

Make sure you’re registered to vote by Monday 17 April

If you have voted in previous elections, you should already be registered. You will only need to register afresh if you want to vote for the first time, have changed your name, address or nationality.

To register to vote, visit Gov.uk. It only takes a few minutes and you only have until Monday 17 April at 11:59pm, so don’t miss out.

Ways to vote

If you’re registered, you will then be then be able to vote:

• by post – the rules have not changed (you do not need photo ID)
• by proxy - which means if you have a good reason, someone else can vote on your behalf
• in a polling station on Thursday 4 May – you will now need photo ID.

Postal voting

If you voted by post last year, you don’t need to do anything to have a postal vote again, unless you have moved house or changed your name.

To apply for a postal vote, or update any details which may have changed apply by Tuesday 18 April, 5pm on the Electoral Commission’s website.

Voting in a polling station on 4 May

To vote in a polling station on election day (between the hours of 7am and 10pm on Thursday 4 May), you will now need to show photo ID from a government approved list, such as certain passports or a driving licence.

See the full list of accepted ID on the Electoral Commission’s website.

If you do not have photo ID

You can apply for a free Voter ID certificate, on the government’s website. The deadline is Tuesday 25 April, 5pm.

Students

If you are a student, living away from home and eligible to vote in the UK, did you know you can register to vote at both your home address and term-time address, if they are in different local council areas?

You will need to be registered wherever you wish to vote (in one, or both places). www.norwich.gov.uk/StudentVote

The candidates

So who is standing for election in your neighbourhood?

The full list of all the candidates broken down ward-by-ward is on our website, this is formally referred to as the ‘statements of persons nominated’. Visit  www.norwich.gov.uk/Election2023 to see it. If you don’t know what ward you are in, you can find out by putting your postcode into the ‘My Norwich’ finder at the top of our homepage. #NorwichElection23 #YourVoteMatters

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