How to vote

There are several ways to vote in an election.

Voting in person

If you are registered to vote, you will receive a polling card around 1 month before the date of the election.

On the day of the election, go to the polling station specified on your polling card, any time between 7am and 10pm. You will be asked to confirm your name and address, or you can hand in your polling card. You don’t need your polling card to vote though, so don’t worry if you lose it or forget to take it with you.

You will be given a ballot paper. Put an ‘X’ next to the name of the candidate you wish to vote for. Do not put any other marks on the ballot paper, or your vote may not be counted.

Voting by proxy

Voting by proxy means that you appoint someone you trust to vote on your behalf at the polling station. It can be useful if you fall ill and are unable to get to the polling station on election day, or if you are abroad during an election. It can be particularly useful if you are overseas in a country too far away to send back a postal vote in time for the election (for instance, if you are in the Armed Forces and deployed overseas).

If you would like to vote by proxy, you must complete a voting by proxy application form on the Electoral Commission website (external website). Print the form, complete it and sign it, then return it to:

The electoral registration office
Denbighshire County Council
County Hall
Wynnstay Road
Ruthin
Denbighshire
LL15 1YN

You need to sign the form personally because the electoral registration office needs a copy of your signature for voting security reasons.

Voting by post

Voting by post is an easy way to vote if you are unable to make it make it to the polling station on election day.

Your ballot paper will be posted to you about a week before election day. When you receive it, mark your vote on the paper and send it back so that it arrives by close of poll, which is 10pm on election day. If your vote arrives later than this, it won’t be counted.

Quick guide to postal voting (PDF, 363KB)

Your ballot paper can be sent to your home address, or any other address you give. It can be sent overseas, but you should consider whether there will be enough time to receive and return your vote by election day.

To vote by post, you will need to complete a voting by post application form on the Electoral Commission website (external website). Print the form, complete it and sign it, and return it to:

The electoral registration office
Denbighshire County Council
County Hall
Wynnstay Road
Ruthin
Denbighshire
LL15 1YN

You need to sign the form personally because the electoral registration office needs a copy of your signature for voting security reasons.