Complete guide to the 2019 Election: where, when and how to vote

0
283

VOTERS will head to the polls today to cast their ballots in one of the most important elections in decades.

Today’s vote will decide the fate of the nation and its relationship with the EU, here is a definitive guide on how, where and when to vote.

Boris Johnson at a polling station way back in the 2018 local elections

FINDING YOUR POLLING STATION

Everyone eligible to vote in this election should have already registered to vote prior to the 26 November deadline.

If you are on the electoral register, you should have been sent a polling card with your polling number and polling station address.

You don’t need this to vote, but you can only vote at the address on the card.

If you have lost your card, you can type in your postcode onto the Electoral Commission’s website.

If you have managed to hold on to your poll card, it can help speed up the process at the polling station.

POLLING STATION RULES

Staff at the polling station will need your name and address to find you on the electoral roll.

They will then give you a ballot paper with a list of the candidates standing in your constituency.

If you’re casting a ballot in Northern Ireland, you’ll need photographic ID to vote, such as a passport, driving license or electoral identity card.

You have from 7am to 10pm on election day to cast your vote. If you’re stuck in the queue as polls shut, don’t worry, you’ll still be able to vote.

All you have to do is pick your favourite candidate, and put an X next to them on the paper.

Polling stations have all sorts of odd rules, including not letting your kids vote for you.

They can come into the station, but you have to be the one to make the X on the paper.

If you mark more than one box, your paper will be invalid.

Once you are ready, fold the paper and put it in the box where votes are collected.

You can use any of your pens, but pencils are advised.

CAN I TAKE A SELIFE?

Instagram influencers will have to keep their snaps to themselves, atleast inside the polling station – the Electoral Commission warns against selfies in case it reveals how someone voted, which is against the law.

The punishment for revealing someone else’s vote, even accidentally, is up to 5000 or six months in jail.

Any pictures outside the polling booth are perfectly fine.

CAN I BRING MY PET?

Cats, horses, and any other pets, bar assistance dogs, will have to wait outside or at home.

You need to take ID to vote in Northern Ireland

WHO IS GOING TO WIN?

The polls are incredibly close, and as with the last two elections, not entirely trustworthy.

While recent polls have Boris Johnson in the lead, polling expert Sir John Curtice has warned it is far from in the bag.

Last night’s YouGov MRP poll, which was the only one to predict Theresa May’s hung parliament, gave the Conservatives a 28 seat majority with a total of 339 seats.

That is down from 68 from the last MRP poll at the end of last month.

The poll also has Labour on 231 seats, down 31 from 2017, the Lib Dems on 15 seats and the SNP on 41.

It really is all up in the air, and polls throughout the election campaign have cast a Tory lead anywhere between 15 and 6 points.

All this is by way of saying, every vote matters, there is no such thing as certainty until all the ballots are finally counted.

Voters face a rainy election day, in the first December election since 1923

ELECTION DAY WEATHER

A winter election means chilly temperatures.

Parts of northern England and Scotland could see a white election day, after the Met Office warned of snow in parts of the UK.

Elsewhere temperatures will be ranging from a frosty 8 degrees in the South East to 2 degrees in Northern England and Scotland.

Parts of Northern Ireland and Wales will need to bring their umbrellas and raincoats if they want to stay dry on election day, rain will move over the London, and the rest of England as the day wears on.

The area around Southampton, Itchen – one of the most marginal constituencies – is looking at downpours with between 8 and 16 mm of rain.