General Election 2024: Today is last day to register to vote on July 4

As poll cards have started to land on doormats across Peterborough, residents are being urged to ensure they are registered to vote on July 4.

With the General Election just three weeks away, residents have just a few days to go to ensure they are registered to vote if they wish to do so.

The deadline to register to vote in the July 4 General Election is 11.59pm tonight (June 18).

The full list of candidates who are standing was confirmed last week.

Who can vote?

To vote in a General Election you must:

Be registered to vote

Be 18 or over on the day of the election (‘polling day’)

Be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen

Be resident at an address in the UK (or a British citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years)

Not be legally excluded from voting – prisoners serving a custodial sentence for a conviction cannot vote in UK parliamentary elections and neither can peers in the House of Lords.

You need to be on the Electoral Register to vote in elections and referendums. You can register to vote online or by post via the GOV.UK website. Registering online takes around five minutes and you'll need your National Insurance Number if you have one.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote for the general election is 5pm on Wednesday 19 June.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote for the general election is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June.

You can also request an emergency proxy vote, after this deadline if last-minute work commitments or a medical emergency mean you cannot vote in person. You can apply for this up to 5pm on polling day.

What happens next?

If you are on the Electoral Register, you will receive a poll card before the election telling you when and where to vote. The polling station is often a school or local hall near where you live. The poll card you receive is for information only, and you do not need to take it to the polling station with you in order to vote.

Voter ID

People voting in most UK elections have had to show a valid form of photo ID at polling stations to vote in person since May last year.

There are a number of acceptable forms of ID:

Passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state, or a Commonwealth Country

A driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or an EEA state

A biometric immigration document

An identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)

A Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)

A Blue Badge

A National Identity Card issued by an EEA state

An Older Person's Bus Pass

A Disabled Person's Bus Pass

An Oyster 60+ Card

A Freedom Pass

A Scottish National Entitlement Card issued in Scotland

A 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales

A Disabled Person's Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales

A Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland

A Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Persons SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland

A War Disablement SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland

A 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland

A Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland

An Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland

You can use expired photo ID documents as acceptable photo ID at the polling station or signing place. This is as long as the photograph is still a good likeness of you.

Photocopies or copies of images on mobile phones or other electronic devices will not be accepted. This is because photo-editing software could be used to edit the documents and therefore could be subject to fraudulent alteration.

What do I do if I don’t have a valid ID?

If you don’t have any of the above acceptable forms of photo ID, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC).

A Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) is a free photographic identification document used and issued for the specific purpose to allow an elector to vote in the polling station.

You only need to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) if:

You do not have accepted photo ID

You no longer look like the photo on your ID

The name on your photo ID is different to your name on the electoral register / poll card

If the name on your photo ID is different, you can register to vote again or take a document with you that proves you have changed your name.

The VAC cannot be used or accepted as proof of identity for any other purpose other than voting.

You can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) on the GOV.UK website.

It is free to apply.