How to vote
Cheshire West and Chester Council elections are held on a four yearly cycle (May 2011, May 2015, etc)
Register to vote
You must be on the electoral register to vote. You can download or request a registration form:
- download registration form
- Email: elreg@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
- Telephone: 01244 977084
- Find out more about electoral registration
Voting at a polling station
You will receive a polling card with details of your polling station. Please check this carefully as your usual polling station may have changed.
Polling stations open from 7am - 10pm on the day of the election. If you cannot visit the polling station, you may choose to vote in one of the following ways.
Voting by post
You can still vote even if you are unable to go to your polling station on election day. You may now receive a postal vote on request. Please note that postal votes are normally sent out approximately one week before polling day.
The deadline for postal vote applications is eleven working days before polling day, and six working days before polling day for proxy vote applications. If you think you will need a postal vote at a forthcoming election, you can apply today whether or not an election has been called.
- Postal Voting Form (PDF, 38.7KB)
- Telephone: 01244 9 77084
Proxy voting
You can appoint someone to vote on your behalf at your usual polling station, but you have to provide a reason to vote by proxy for a single election. You can only vote by proxy on an indefinite basis for the following reasons: physical incapacity, overseas voter, studying at university and certain occupations such as armed forces.
You need to tell your proxy which candidate or candidates you wish to vote for.
If you change your mind and wish to vote in person, you can still do so, providing that your proxy has not already voted on your behalf.
Medical emergencies
In the case of medical emergencies, a proxy or postal vote may be applied for up to 5pm on polling day. This application must be attested by a medical professional.
Please note: to apply for a proxy or postal vote, you must already be registered to vote.
The ballot papers
Guidance on how to vote will be on the ballot papers. Please read the instructions carefully as depending on which ward you are in you may be able to vote for more than one candidate.
Refreshing absent vote identifiers
Starting in January 2012 legislation requires the Electoral Registration Officer to conduct an annual review of every person who remains a postal ('absent') voter, and whose signature held on record is more than five years old. These will be sent a notice in writing requiring them to provide a fresh signature if they wish to retain their postal vote. The notice will require the elector to supply a specimen of their signature and if this is not received within six weeks of the date of the notice their absent voting facility will be cancelled. The next review will be January 2013.