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How to Vote in the General Election

Thursday 23-05-2024 - 12:00

How to Vote in the General Election

By Your SU

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced that the General Election will take place on Thursday 4th July. Students and young people make up around 10% of the voting population, so using your voice to have your say can make a big difference! Below you can find a guide of the information you need to know about how to vote and the voting requirements, including a number of useful National Union of Students (NUS) resources from the 'Turn Up' campaign.

NUS Turn Up to Vote Campaign: Grey image of students campaigning with placards, with the words 'Turn Up' in green overlaid

Can I vote?

The first question you may have is 'am I eligible to vote?', particularly if you're an international student. You can read about voter eligibility requirements at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

You do not have to be a British Citizen to vote in UK elections. There are, however, different rules on whether you can vote depending on your nationality. You can use this simple tool to find out if you are eligible to vote: https://canivote.org.uk/

How do I register to vote?

You register to vote by going to https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming General Election is 11:59pm on Tuesday 18th June.

Can I be registered to vote at more than one address?

Students are allowed to register to vote at more than one address if you consider both places to be a permanent home e.g. if you split your time between a term-time address and a home address. It is illegal, however, to vote in both locations.

Do I need photo ID to vote?

You need an acceptable form of photo ID, and you need to take it with you to the polling station on election day in order to be able to vote. You can find a list of acceptable forms of photo ID here: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/voter-id/accepted-forms-photo-id.

Through NUS, you can get a FREE Voter ID from CitizenCard. Find out more about how to apply for you FREE Voter ID card here: https://www.nus.org.uk/citizencard. The deadline for this is Thursday 20th June.

You can also apply for a Voter Authority Certificate to use as your ID here: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/voter-id/accepted-forms-photo-id. The deadline for this is Wednesday 26th June.

Turn Up to Vote! NUS Campaign

NUS are running a campaign that provides you with all the information you need to take part in the General Election, covering the points mentioned above and more! To receive this helpful info, all you need to do is pledge that you will Turn Up and vote in the 2024 General Election. Find out more and pledge to Turn Up here: https://www.nus.org.uk/turn-up-election-2024

There's also lots of information available on the NUS website. Check out General Election info on the NUS website here: https://www.nus.org.uk/general-election

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