The Government is making big changes to the way elections are run and how we vote. The changes are set out in the Elections Act 2022.
One of the biggest changes is that you now need to show photo identification (ID), such as a passport or driving licence, when you go to vote at a polling station.
Not all of the changes have been announced yet, so this page is a summary of what we know so far. As and when further information becomes available, we will update this page.
You can find out more about the Elections Act 2022 on the Government website.
Summary of upcoming changes
Voters in England need to show photo ID when they vote in person at a polling station.
This applies to:
- UK Parliamentary elections, including general elections, by-elections and recall petitions
- local elections and by-elections
- Police and Crime Commissioner elections
View a list of list of acceptable photo ID documents.
If you have an accepted form of photo ID but it has expired it can still be used, as long as the photo is still a good likeness of you.
If you do not have any of the photo ID listed, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate (this is a photo identity document specifically for the purpose of voting).
Read more about the requirement to show photo ID when you vote in person at a polling station.
If you're registered to vote anonymously and want to vote in person, you will need to apply for an Anonymous Elector's Document.
Your application for an Anonymous Elector's Document must be accompanied by a suitable photo. If you're unable to provide a photo that meets the criteria, you can contact Electoral Services to make an appointment to have your photo taken at the Council's offices at County Hall in Dorchester.
Find out more about registering to vote anonymously and how to vote anonymously.
Absent voting enables you to vote in an election if you cannot get to the polling station. There are currently two types of absent voting – postal voting and proxy voting.
Changes to absent voting
- if you are applying to vote by post or by proxy, you now need to provide proof of your identity. A new application service has been set up so that you can apply online to vote by post or apply online to vote by proxy
- the existing secrecy requirements have been extended to postal and proxy votes
Postal voting
- you are now required to refresh your signature for postal voting purposes every 3 years instead of 5. This change is taking places in stages from January 2024
- you now cannot hand in more than five postal ballot packs at a polling station on the day of an election (in addition to your own)
- political parties and campaigners are now prevented from handling certain completed postal votes and postal vote envelopes
Proxy voting
- at the same election, someone can now only be a proxy for two people based in the UK. If they are acting as proxy for people living overseas, they can act as proxy for up to four people but only two of these can be based in the UK.
The proposed changes, which took effect in May 2023, make it easier for disabled voters to vote, with disabled voters given extra support at polling stations and anyone over the age of 18 able to accompany a disabled voter.
Find out more about the range of support we provide for disabled voters.
From 7 May 2024, European Union (EU) citizens are no longer automatically entitled to register to vote and stand for election.
Two groups of EU citizens will retain their voting and candidacy rights:
- ‘qualifying EU citizens' – citizens of EU countries with which the UK has reciprocal voting and candidacy agreements. These countries are currently Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain (also known as the EU5). The agreements mean that we allow their citizens who are resident in the UK to vote in our local elections (but not UK Parliamentary elections) and they allow our citizens who are resident in their countries to vote in their elections
- ‘EU citizens with retained rights' – citizens of other EU countries who were already legally resident in the UK before 31 December 2020
This change will not affect the rights of citizens from Ireland, Malta or Cyprus.
We are now (as of August 2024), reviewing the registrations of all EU citizens. For those EU citizens who are currently registered to vote and where one of the following applies:
- we are able to confirm that you were resident in the UK before 31 December through checking electoral register records, or
- you qualify to remain on the electoral register as a citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain
then we will send you an email or letter confirming you remain eligible to be registered under the new criteria. You will not need to do anything: you will remain registered and will be able to vote in local elections (but not UK Parliamentary elections).
However, if you are an EU citizen who is currently registered to vote but we are unable to confirm that you are eligible to remain registered through our electoral register records, then we will send you an email or letter to try and find out if you are still eligible to remain registered.
We will only send emails from the address elections@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk. Please check the email address before responding.
If you have received a letter or email asking you to confirm your eligibility, you will need to either:
- respond via the gov.uk website - details on how to log in will be included in the letter or email you will have received, or
- complete the paper form that will be enclosed with the letter and return it to us using the pre-paid envelope provided
If you confirm to us that you do not meet the eligibility criteria, then your details will be removed from the electoral register. This means that you will no longer be able to vote in local government elections and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. You will receive a further letter confirming this.
If you do not respond to our requests for information about your eligibility, then we will determine that you are no longer eligible to remain registered to vote and your details will be removed from the electoral register. This means that you will no longer be eligible to vote in local government elections and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. You will receive a further letter confirming this.
If you didn't respond to our requests for information (and your details have been removed from the electoral register) but you do meet the eligibility criteria, then you will need to register to vote again at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
Changes to citizenship or nationality
If you have gained new citizenship or changed your nationality since you last registered to vote, you should let us know. The changes to your citizenship or nationality may affect your eligibility to vote in some elections and you might need to register to vote again. You can contact us at elections@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk or call 01305 838299. Alternatively, you can submit a new application to register to vote at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
On 16 January 2024, changes to voting rights for British citizens living overseas came into force. The 15 year limit on voting rights for British citizens living overseas was abolished, meaning that British citizens living overseas can now register for life.
Any British citizen living abroad who has previously lived in, or been registered to vote in the UK, now has the right to vote at UK Parliamentary elections. These voters will be registered at the constituency where they were last registered to vote, or where they lived if they were not registered to vote before. British citizens living abroad will no longer have to register as an overseas voter every year. Instead, they will have to renew their registration every 3 years.
If you are a UK citizen living abroad, you can apply to be an overseas elector. This means you can cast your vote in UK elections and referendums whilst still living in another country.
A "supplementary vote system" was previously in place for the following elections:
- local authority (council) mayors in England
- combined authority mayors
- Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales
- the London mayor
From May 2023, this changed to a simple majority voting system, also known as "first past the post". In "first past the post" voting, you only vote for one candidate and the candidate with the most votes wins. Candidates no longer need to get a certain number of votes; they just have to get more than any other candidate.