Introduction
We have a duty to divide our area into polling districts and to designate a polling place for each district for elections. We keep the arrangements under review.
We must review our polling districts and polling places at least once every five years. The next review must start and finish between 1 October 2023 and 1 January 2025.
We must follow these rules when designating polling districts and polling places:
- Each parish in England and community in Wales must be a separate polling district, unless there's a good reason not to.
- We must designate a polling place for each polling district, unless the district is so small or remote that it doesn't matter where the polling station is.
- The polling place must be in the district, unless there's a good reason to put it outside the district (for example, if there's no accessible polling place in the district).
- The polling place must be small enough so that electors in different parts of the district can easily find the polling station.
PARLIAMENTARY BOUNDARY CHANGES
The four Parliamentary Boundary Commissions in the UK have recently finished reviewing the Parliamentary constituencies. They have sent their final reports and recommendations to the Speaker of the House of Commons.
This means that there will be some changes to the constituencies that people vote in at the next General election. However, any Parliamentary by-elections that take place before then will use the existing constituency boundaries.
You can find out more about the changes to your constituency on the Boundary Commission for England’s website: www.bcereviews.org.uk.
View the Summary of parliamentary boundary changes
DEFINITION OF TERMS
| Parliamentary constituency | A geographical area that is represented by a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons. |
|---|---|
| Polling districts | Smaller geographical areas that are created by dividing up a constituency or ward. |
| Polling place | The designated area for a polling district where you can vote. This is usually a room in a community centre or school. |
| Polling station | The actual room or space where you vote.e.g., a room in a community centre or school. |
Role of the Electoral Commission
The Council will follow guidance issued by the Electoral Commission in undertaking the review.
Although the Electoral Commission has no role in the review process itself, it can consider comments if people do not think that the review has met the reasonable requirements of electors or taken sufficient account of the needs of disabled electors.
The following people can make representations to the Electoral Commission, once the review has been completed:
- 30 or more registered electors
- Any person who made comments during the review
- Any parish council or parish meeting for the area
- Any non-elector who the Commission feels has sufficient interest in the accessibility of disabled persons.
The Electoral Commission has the ability to direct the Council to make alterations to polling places if it thinks that is necessary.