Portland Town Council - Portland Tophill East Ward - election on 10 July 2025

About this election

An election for one councillor for Portland Town Council - Portland Tophill East Ward - will take place on Thursday 10 July 2025.

View the following documents:

• notice of election

The count for this election will take place after close of poll (10pm) on Thursday 10 July 2025 and the results will be published on our Results of elections, referenda and polls page as soon as possible.

Information for candidates

Read the Electoral Commission guidance for candidates at parish council elections in England. 

Nomination papers 

Read the Electoral Commission guidance on the nominations process and download nomination papers for parish council elections in England.  Please contact us if you require a paper copy of the nomination pack.

You can also view a video on how to fill out your nomination papers (please note that this was created for the parish and town council elections in May 2024).  Subtitles can be turned on/off by using the "subtitles/closed captions" button in the YouTube player toolbar.  If you have a disability or impairment which prevents you from viewing the video and require additional support to complete your nomination papers, please contact us.

Please note the following:

• the nomination papers must be printed off as electronic signatures are not permitted
• for an informal check of the nomination papers, please email us scanned images of the papers 
• to check the registration status of the proposer and seconder and obtain their electoral numbers, please contact us

Completed nomination papers must be hand delivered to the Returning Officer, Dorset Council, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XJ between 9.30am and 4pm on any working day after the date of publication of the notice of election on Thursday 5 June 2025 (excluding bank holidays) but no later than 4pm on Friday 13 June 2025.  Please contact us to make an appointment for the delivery of your nomination papers.  

Paperwork confirming the nomination will be posted to the candidate.

Candidate expenses

Read the Electoral Commission guidance on candidate spending  and completing your candidate spending return (you can also download the spending return and declaration for completion).

Your completed spending return and declaration should be returned to Electoral Services (we require paper copies).

Campaigning activity 

Read the Electoral Commission guidance on campaigning. 

Information for voters

There are deadlines by which we must receive completed applications, or instructions to make changes to any existing postal or proxy voting arrangements, for this election - see the key dates section below.

Register to vote

Your details must be included on the electoral register if you want to vote in elections, polls and referenda. 

If you are already registered to vote at your current address, you do not need to register again. 

To check if you are registered to vote, contact us.

You can register to vote on Gov.uk.

Your poll card

If you are registered to vote, you will be sent a poll card a few weeks before the election which will tell you when the election is due to take place and how you can vote. 

If you already have a postal vote in place, you will be sent a postal poll card a few weeks before the election which will tell you when the election is due to take place and give details of your postal voting arrangements. 

If you already have a proxy vote in place, you will be sent a proxy poll card a few weeks before the election which will tell you when the election is due to take place and give details of your proxy voting arrangements. Your nominated proxy voter will also be sent a proxy poll card, telling them how to vote on your behalf.  

Voting at a polling station

You do not need to take your poll card with you to the polling station to vote, unless you are a registered anonymous voter, but you must take photo ID. 

Find out more about what photo ID you can take or apply for a Voter Authority Certificate if you don't have any of the accepted forms of ID.

As well as their poll card, registered anonymous voters must bring an Anonymous Elector's Document to the polling station. 

Find out more about registering to vote anonymously and the Anonymous Elector's Document. If you are registered as an anonymous voter and want to vote at your local polling station but do not have an Anonymous Elector's Document, contact us for an application form.  

Your poll card will give the address of your polling station.

Read more about voting in a polling station.

Voting by post or proxy 

If you are unable to get to your polling station on polling day, you can apply to vote by post or proxy instead. 

• apply online to vote by post (or download a form) 
• apply online to vote by proxy (or download a form)

If you need a paper application form, contact us.

If you vote by proxy, your nominated proxy will need to go to your local polling station and take their own photo ID. If they do not have an acceptable form of photo ID, they can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate. If your proxy cannot got to your polling station, they can apply to vote by post for you (a postal proxy). If they need a paper application form, they can contact us.

If you are not applying online to vote by post or proxy, then your completed application form needs to be sent to Electoral Services. You can email us a scan or photo of your completed form.  

Voters with a disability 

Read about support available for voters with a disability.  

Key dates for this election

Polling day is [day] [date] (polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm).