How to vote, polling station queues and pencil conspiracy theories - Q&A

How do I find out where to go to vote?

If you are registered to vote you will have been sent a polling card, which indicates where you should vote. If you haven’t received a polling card you should contact your local Electoral Registration Office. You can use this service to find the address if you live in England, Scotland or Wales. If you live in Northern Ireland you need to contact the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI).

Do I need ID to vote?

You do not need to show ID to vote in England, Scotland and Wales in a general election. You don’t even need to bring your polling card. You just need to tell polling staff your name and address. They will then cross your name off the list and give you a ballot paper. If you’re voting in Northern Ireland, you must show photo ID.

What happens in the polling station?

If you haven’t voted before, or for a long time, here’s what you can expect. Once the clerk is assured of who you are with either your polling card, name and address, or ID in Northern Ireland, you will be ticked off a list of registered voters for that polling station. The clerk will then give you a ballot paper. Take the paper into the privacy of a voting booth, and mark an ‘X’ next to the candidate of your choice in the box provided next to their name. Then fold up your paper, and put it into the ballot box. If you make a mistake voting, you can go back to the clerk and ask for another ballot paper, providing you haven’t already put your vote into the ballot box.

Why do people sometimes ask me for my polling number after I’ve voted?

During an election campaign parties will often go door-to-door asking people how they intend to vote. They’ll keep a list of people who say they will or might vote for them. When party workers ask for your polling number after you’ve voted, it allows them to check whether you are on their list of people to remind to vote, and cross you off, as you already have. It does not in any way tell them how you have voted, but possibly stops them knocking on your door later on when you are having your tea.

Do large queues at polling stations mean a large turn-out?

Not necessarily. It isn’t unusual for polling stations to be extremely busy at the times that people usually travel to and from work. Turnout has been going back up in recent years after the low of 59.4% in 2001. While lots of people have been posting on social media on Thursday that large queues indicate that young voters are turning out, it should be cautioned that people said the same in 2017 and 2015.

Can I take a selfie when I’m voting? Or post a picture of my ballot paper online?

The rules around photography at elections were drawn up long before Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat existed, and are not really prepared for it. The Electoral Commission recommends that returning officers do not allow photography within polling stations. This is because of the secrecy requirements set out in section 66 of the Representation of the People Act.

Trying to take pictures inside a busy polling station could be construed as an attempt to obtain information about how other people have voted. So while there is not a specific law against taking a selfie while you vote, it could land you in hot water.

Postal ballots are somewhat different. Since the rules around photography are to do with maintaining secrecy in a polling station or polling place, that is not a consideration with postal voting. The Electoral Commission has confirmed that “a postal voter may take a picture of their own postal ballot paper and publicise, including via social media” even if it shows how they have voted.

Can I take a picture of my dog at a polling station?

Yes. And cats, horses, and even Daleks. Please do.

Are ballot papers biased because the Brexit party logo points to where you vote or the Liberal Democrats say ‘stop Brexit’?

In May, there were complaints that the European parliamentary election ballot paper contained a subliminal bias, as the Brexit party logo appears to be an arrow pointing to the voting box. The party’s logo is made up of parts of the shape of the “e” and “x” in the middle of Brexit, which leaves an arrow shape in the middle.

The Electoral Commission oversees which logos parties use, and its guidelines specify that you are not allowed to use an emblem that “is likely to contradict or hinder instructions or guidance given for voting”. It approved the use of the Brexit party emblem on 4 April this year, not finding that it might influence votes.

Parties are also allowed to display a description alongside their name, which is why the Liberal Democrats are allowed to say “to Stop Brexit” on the ballot paper. This also has been approved by the Electoral Commission. Other parties would be free to take a similar approach if they felt it would be beneficial.

Why do people say you should ‘use pens’ to vote?

There’s a persistent social media myth that it is safer to vote using your own pen than the pencils supplied in polling booths. This is, the conspiracy theory states, to prevent agents from tampering with your vote, by erasing the “x” on your ballot paper and placing it somewhere else. In truth, the logistics of someone arranging to have ballot papers taken away, votes erased and replaced back in the ballot boxes is somewhat fanciful. But there is nothing to stop you bringing your own pen if it makes you feel better.