Election 2019: What if you haven’t got a polling card? Who can vote in UK elections?
ELECTION 2019 voting will commence in two days, as the Conservatives and Labour clash in their second election in as many years with hopes to break the Brexit deadlock. What can you do if you don’t have a polling card, and who is eligible to vote?
Election: Farage reveals what he will do with party post-Brexit
Election 2019 voting starts on December 12, with two days to go until the country elects its next Prime Minister. Millions of people are expected to cast their ballot on Thursday, but not everyone in the country is eligible to vote.
Can you vote without a polling card?
The 2019 election was announced this year on October 27 and saw millions of people very quickly sign up to vote.
Those who successfully registered before the deadline (this year November 26) will have since received a polling card.
The polling card displays where and when people can vote in the election this year, directing them to their nearest polling station.
READ MORE: Labour horror: Boris warns of ‘clear and present' danger as Corbyn
Some people may have lost or not received their polling card, but as long as they have registered, they can still vote.
People on the electoral register can provide their name to their local polling station on election day to get a voting slip.
Those who didn’t receive a card and need to find out where their nearest polling station is can do so by contacting their local authority election office.
Polling stations are open on December 12 for 13 hours, from 7am to 10pm.
Who is eligible to vote in the UK elections?
Voter eligibility varies depending on the election, as rules change with each type of vote.
For the 2019 general election, people need to:
- Register to vote
- Be 18 or over on election day
- Be British, Irish or qualify as a Commonwealth citizen
- Live at a UK address, or have lived at a UK address in the last 15 years
- Not be legally excluded from voting (a prisoner, someone guilty of election-related crimes)
DON'T MISS
Election plot: Swathe of Britons to vote tactically to deliver Brexit [ANALYSIS]
Nigel Farage will NOT vote for Boris Johnson in election [BREAKING]
Tactical voting in general election: Is tactical voting LEGAL in UK? [EXPLAINER]
When it comes to local government elections, the rules slightly change.
The same rules apply as a general election, but EU citizens are also allowed to vote.
Unlike general elections, local council elections take place at different dates.
EU citizens are also able to vote in the London Mayoral and London Assembly elections, the next to come after this year.
Those who are eligible and registered to vote sometimes don’t exercise their democratic rights, however.
In 2017, a total of 46.8 million people registered to vote in the first elections since Brexit.
However, just 65.3 percent of those who registered turned up to vote at all.
Officials rejected another 0.2 percent of ballot papers.