Before an election, the council will send you a polling card. Polling is another name for voting. This card will tell you when the election is and where you can vote.
Get involved
Voting in person
Council
This is the local government where things are decided about the area you live in.
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Polling card
A card sent to people who are registered to vote. It tells them about when an election is going to happen and where they can go to vote.
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On the day of the election, you can go to the polling station which is the name for the place people vote. This is usually in a local hall or school.
You can usually vote up until 9pm.
Polling station
This is a place like a school, hall or community centre where an election takes place.
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You can take your polling card with you and give it to the people there. If you do not have your polling card, you can tell the people at the polling station your name and address.
Polling card
A card sent to people who are registered to vote. It tells them about when an election is going to happen and where they can go to vote.
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Polling card
A card sent to people who are registered to vote. It tells them about when an election is going to happen and where they can go to vote.
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Polling station
This is a place like a school, hall or community centre where an election takes place.
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You will then be given a ballot paper. A ballot paper is a list of names of the people you can vote for.
Sometimes more than one election will be held on the same day.
Ballot paper
A piece of paper with a list of candidates. You mark a cross on this paper next to the name of the person you choose.
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The people at the polling station will help you by showing you what to do if you ask them to.
Polling station
This is a place like a school, hall or community centre where an election takes place.
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Once you have your ballot paper, you go to one of the polling booths. A polling booth is a place where you can vote in private.
Ballot paper
A piece of paper with a list of candidates. You mark a cross on this paper next to the name of the person you choose.
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Polling booth
This is a private place in a polling station, where you vote for someone in an election by putting a cross on a ballot paper.
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To vote, you put a cross in the box on the ballot paper next to the name of the person you want to vote for.
Ballot paper
A piece of paper with a list of candidates. You mark a cross on this paper next to the name of the person you choose.
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Then you fold up your ballot paper and put it in the ballot box.
A ballot box is a locked box that holds all the marked ballot papers.
Ballot paper
A piece of paper with a list of candidates. You mark a cross on this paper next to the name of the person you choose.
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Ballot paper
A piece of paper with a list of candidates. You mark a cross on this paper next to the name of the person you choose.
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When the voting is finished, the ballot boxes are taken to a place where the votes are counted.
There are people there to make sure this is done fairly.
The person with the most votes wins the election.
The person who wins the election then becomes your councillor, MP or MEP, depending on what type of election it is.
MP
Your MP is a politician who represents you when it comes to making decisions about things that affect the whole country.
You can vote to choose your MP at a General Election.
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MEP
MEPs are politicians you can vote for who represent you when it comes to making decisions about the European Union.
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That person is your representative even if you did not vote for them.
