In little more than two weeks there will be the Norwich City Council local election. This will be the first election where anyone voting in-person at a polling station will need to show photo ID.
With one seat in each of the 13 wards across the city up for election, Norwich voters will be taking to the polls on Thursday 4 May to elect one-third of the 39 councillors who make up Norwich City Council.
Louise Rawsthorne, Returning Officer said:
“Voting in a local election is one way to affect some of the issues that matter most to you. You are selecting the people who ultimately decide council policies and set the budget for local services.
It’s incredibly important that everyone who wants to vote gets to do so, and for those who want to do that in-person at a polling station the new requirement to show photo ID is a significant change we want to make sure everyone is aware of.”
Voting in a polling station on 4 May
To vote in a polling station on election day (between the hours of 7am and 10pm on Thursday 4 May), you will now need to show photo ID from a government approved list, such as certain passports, driving licences or identification which bears the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card).
The photo ID can be out of date, as long as it still looks like you.
The name on your ID should be the same name you used to register to vote.
If you don't have an accepted form of photo ID
- You have until Tuesday 25 April, 5pm to apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate. Apply for this if:
- you don't have an accepted form of photo ID
- you're not sure whether your photo ID still looks like you
- you're worried about using an existing form of ID for any other reason, such as the use of a gender marker.
To see the accepted forms of ID and apply for the Voter Authority Certificate, visit our voter ID web-pages.
Proxy voting
The deadline to apply for a (non-emergency) proxy vote for the election on Thursday 4 May 2023 is Tuesday 25 April, 5pm.
This is where you give a reason why you cannot vote in person and want to nominate someone else to cast your vote for you.
The person you choose to cast your proxy vote will need to show their own photo ID; they will not need to show your ID.
To find out more about proxy voting, or to apply, visit our proxy voting web-pages.
Postal voting
The first set of postal votes should be arriving on doormats from this Friday 21 April. Please remember you do not need to, and must not, send photo ID with your postal ballot.
#NorwichElection23 #YourVoteMatters
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