How voting works
There will be a General Election on Thursday 4 July 2024.
Other unscheduled polls can happen, such as councillor by-elections and neighbourhood planning referendums. We'll write to all electors with a poll card whenever an election is scheduled.
You'll be sent a new poll card for each election.
What do you need to do?
You will need to register to vote for all of these if you want to have your say. It only takes about five minutes.
When voting, it is a requirement for all voters in polling stations to show ID before they can be issued with a ballot paper:
What will you receive in the post?
All voters are allocated to a specific polling station in their local area. The details of your polling station will be on your poll card, which is sent around five weeks before polling day.
For the Lewisham Mayoral election you should receive your poll card around the start of February.
For the London Mayor and GLA elections, you would receive it at the end of March.
If you'd prefer to vote by post or by proxy
This is not a problem:
Past election results
You can find details of past election results on our dedicated election results archive page.
Voting in a polling station
All voters are allocated to a specific polling station. We will provide details of the polling station on your poll card, which is sent around 5 weeks before polling day.
All polling stations are assessed for accessibility and will have facilities to enable everyone to vote.
If you have any concerns about your allocated polling station, or you wish to discuss specific accessibility requirements, please contact electoral services directly.
Since May 2023 you must show ID before you can be issued with a ballot paper.
Completing a ballot paper
Your ballot paper will have instructions at the top of the ballot paper explaining exactly how to vote.
In most cases, you'll be asked to put an X in the box next to the candidate you want to vote for. If you have more than one vote, like in some local councillor elections, the ballot paper will tell you.
Don't make any other marks on the ballot paper - it could mean your vote gets rejected.
If you're not sure how to mark the ballot paper, ask a member of staff in the polling station, or contact electoral services by phone.
How to vote by post
- you can apply for a one-off postal vote for a specific election, or for all elections
- if you apply for a postal vote, we will send your ballot paper to your home or another specified address
- you need to apply for a postal vote by 5pm on the 11th working day before the election
- if you can't apply for the postal vote online, contact us for a paper form to be sent to you
Apply for a postal vote
How to vote by proxy
- a proxy vote is when you appoint somebody else to vote on your behalf
- your proxy can opt to vote at your allocated polling station, or they can apply for a postal vote
- you can only apply to vote by proxy for a specific election
- you need to apply for a proxy vote by 5pm on the 6th working day before the election
- if you can't apply for the proxy vote online, contact us for a paper form to be sent to you
Apply for a proxy vote
Emergency proxy voting
Find out more about emergency proxy voting.