How to Vote

By casting your vote, you can have your say on the issues and policies that matter to you and your community.

Voting in Local Borough Elections for your local councillors influences who represents you on a local level with Council related issues. Voting in the General Election for your Member of Parliament influences who represents your views on a national level in Parliament.

Electoral Register

You can only vote if your name is on the electoral register. To be eligible to vote you must be:

Registered to vote: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
18 or over on the day of the election
A British, Irish, Commonwealth or EU Citizen
A member or spouse of a member of HM Forces
A crown servant employed outside the UK
Registered at an address in the area you want to vote in
Not be legally excluded from voting

If you are registered on the electoral register, you will be sent a polling card a few weeks before an election.

If you haven’t received a polling card but you think you should have done, you can contact Slough Borough Council to check your registration by email: ballotbox@slough.gov.uk

Voter ID

Voter Identification is required at polling stations for all elections. People who wish to vote in person, including those acting as a proxy, are required to provide an accepted photographic ID to prove their identity before they will be issued with a ballot paper.

You can find the accepted forms of photographic ID on the Council’s website here: https://www.slough.gov.uk/voting-elections/vote/3

Expired photographic identification documents can still be used as accepted Photographic ID at the polling station or signing place, as long as the photograph is still a good likeness of the elector.

Casting Your Vote

There are a number of ways in which you can cast your vote.

Polling Station

If you are on the electoral register you will be sent a polling card a few weeks before an election which tells you when the election takes place and your allocated polling station. On the day of the election you can vote between 7am to 10pm.

Voting by Post

If you are on the electoral register, you can apply for a postal vote through the Government’s website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-a-postal-vote

You will receive a ballot paper by post two weeks before the day of the election and must return your ballot paper by Election Day.

Voting by Proxy

A vote by proxy means that you appoint someone to vote on your behalf if you are unable to get to the polling station on Election Day, providing you appear on the electoral register.

If you want a proxy vote for all future elections, you must meet the criteria outlined on the Council’s website here: https://www.slough.gov.uk/voting-elections/vote/6

You must complete the ‘Voting by proxy form’ on the Council’s website here: https://www.slough.gov.uk/downloads/file/3/voting-by-proxy-form

Local Borough Elections

There will be an election for all local councillors on 4 May 2023.

If you are not registered to vote, you have until 11:59pm on 17 April 2023 to register to be able to vote in this election.

You can find further detail about the Local Borough Elections on the Council’s website here: https://www.slough.gov.uk/news/article/280/local-and-parish-elections-announced

All the information you need about how to vote in an election can be found on the Council’s website: https://www.slough.gov.uk/voting-elections/vote