Voting by post or proxy

By post

You can apply for a postal vote for future elections.

You 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. We compare this to your original application to make sure that the person voting is the same as the person who applied for the postal vote.

We’ll send your postal vote 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 10pm 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 5pm on election day.

The following documents must be printed single-sided and with no scaling (original size, not ‘fit to paper’ or ‘shrink large pages’):

• Application to vote by post (pdf)
• Large print version of the application to vote by post (pdf)
• Postal vote forms in languages other than English
• Application to cancel your existing postal vote (pdf)

By proxy

You can appoint a proxy for future elections.

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 before election day you can apply for an emergency proxy vote, however this must be supported by a health professional. For more information, please contact us at electoral.servicesadmin@lbhf.gov.uk

The following documents must be printed single-sided and with no scaling (original size, not ‘fit to paper’ or ‘shrink large pages’):

• Application to vote by proxy for a single election (pdf)
• Application to vote by proxy for overseas electors (pdf)
• Application for proxy to vote by post (pdf) (please only complete this form if you are a proxy acting on behalf of an elector)

You can send applications to vote by post to:

Electoral Services
Hammersmith Town Hall
King Street
Hammersmith
London W6 9JU

Or scan and email to electoral.servicesadmin@lbhf.gov.uk