Voters are being reminded to get ready to take part in the county-wide Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Election taking place on Thursday 2 May 2024.  

In preparation for voters to have their say, it is important to be registered to vote by 16th April 2024 and to be fully aware of how changes through the Election Act 2022 will affect how you vote.

Proxy Voting

You can now apply online for some types of proxy vote (emergency proxy votes are not included). Both online and paper applications require ID verification (except for emergency proxy votes). You will be able to act as a proxy for no more than two people based in the UK, regardless of your relationship. If you are acting as proxy for people living overseas, you can act as proxy for up to four people but only two of these can be based in the UK. 

Anyone acting as a proxy to vote on someone's behalf will need to show their photo ID at the polling station. For more information or to apply online for a proxy vote go to: www.gov.uk/apply-proxy-vote  

Postal voting

You can now also apply online for a postal vote by going to www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote and can hold a postal vote for a maximum of 3 years, after which you will need to reapply.

When applying, you will need to prove your identity with your National Insurance number and an uploaded image of your signature as part of the process. Both online and paper applications require ID verification and will not be accepted without.  

You can still hand deliver postal votes to your polling station or your local authority office, however there are now limits on how many postal votes you can hand deliver. You may now hand in your own and those of up to 5 other electors per poll. If delivering postal votes by hand there will be a form that must be completed.

If this form is not completed in full, more than the permitted number of postal votes are handed in, or you are a political campaigner not permitted to handle postal votes, your postal vote(s) will be rejected. It is therefore important anyone delivering to our Catmose office should do this via Customer Services to ensure that a form is completed correctly.  

Any votes left in the council mailboxes will be rejected. To ensure this does not happen please post via Royal Mail with enough time for your vote to reach us. Royal Mail have priority post boxes around the county which offer later collection times and a faster delivery to the destination. Details of these can be found on the Royal Mail website.

Voter ID

Don't forget that voters in England are required to show photo ID to vote at polling stations. If you don't have accepted photo ID, you can apply for a free voter ID document, which is known as a Voter Authority Certificate at: www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate

Mark Andrews, Returning Officer for Rutland County Council, said: "The PCC Election is fast approaching, and we are still awaiting an expected date for a General Election this year. It is therefore extremely important that all our voters feel confident on when and how they can cast their vote in these upcoming elections. 

"We have details about the elections on our website, and our Elections Team are always happy to help residents with any enquiries, so please get in touch if you need any further assistance."

For more information, please go to the RCC website or contact your elections office at [email protected] or 01572 720 954. You can also learn more about the changes to the Election Act 2022 at Elections Act | Electoral Commission.