Elections - Absent Voting
By post
Every voter can have a postal vote instead of voting in the polling station. You can have a postal vote indefinitely or for a fixed period, you can also say whether you want to vote by post for a certain type of election (for example, General Elections only).
When you apply for a postal vote you must provide your date of birth and a sample of your signature. When you cast your vote at an election you will need to provide this information again, this is compared to your original application to make sure that the person voting is the same as the person who applied for the postal vote.
Your postal vote will be sent to your home address or another address you specify (you must give a reason for your vote to go to another address). You must make sure that you return it to us by 10.00pm on election day - if your vote arrives after then it will not be counted. If your vote does not arrive you can apply for a replacement, but you must do so by 5.00pm on election day
Information on postal voting in languages other than English
By proxy
You can apply for someone to vote for you, called a "proxy". Your proxy then votes at your local polling station, or they can ask to vote for you by post.
If you want to vote by proxy the law says you have to give us a reason why you cannot vote in person. You can apply for one election only, or for a longer term.
Long term applications usually have to be supported by a doctor, employer or course tutor, depending on the reason why you are applying.
If you have a medical emergency immediately prior to election day you can apply for an emergency proxy vote, however this must be supported by a health professional. Contact Electoral Services to find out more
The documents must be printed single-sided and with no scaling (i.e. original size not 'fit to paper' or 'shrink large pages').
Application to vote by proxy for a single election
Application to vote by proxy due to physical incapacity
Application to vote by proxy due to employment
Application to vote by proxy due to attending an educational course
Application to vote by proxy for overseas electors
Combined postal and proxy application form for overseas electors
Application to vote by proxy for Crown Servants
Application to vote by proxy for Service Voters
