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Voting

If your name appears on the Register of Electors and you are eligible to vote in elections or referendums, you should receive a poll card advising you of the date, your polling place and the time polling stations will be open before an election or referendum is held.

Your poll card is only for information, and you can vote without it. However, it will help the staff at the polling station to check your details before you are given a ballot paper.

The UK Government has introduced a requirement for voters to show photo ID when voting at a polling station at some elections. This new requirement will apply for the first time in England at the local elections on Thursday 4 May 2023.

Changes to postal and proxy voting applications

The Elections Act 2022 introduced a number of changes to our electoral system, including how we vote by post and proxy.

Residents in the District are advised that from Tuesday 31 October 2023, voters will be able to apply to vote by post online. Previously, postal votes could only be applied for by completing a paper application form.

If you wish to vote by post, but cannot apply online, a paper application form is available from the Electoral Commission’s website at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter, or please contact us by email at voting@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk or telephone on 01636 655459.

Postal votes will last for a maximum of three years with voters required to re-apply for their postal vote at the end of this period. If you currently have a postal vote in place, you do not need to take any action now. We will write to you when it is time to renew.

Proxy voting has also changed from Tuesday 31 October 2023. Under new rules, voters will be limited to acting as a proxy for two people, regardless of their relationship. Anyone voting on behalf of UK voters who live overseas may be eligible to act as a proxy for up to four people. Voters will be able to apply to vote by proxy online for some types of proxy vote.

A National Insurance number will need to be provided on postal vote and proxy vote applications. If someone is not able to provide it, alternative proof of identity may be accepted. You will also need to upload an image of your usual signature.

These changes are part of the Elections Act and further information can be found at www.electoralcommission.org.uk/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/our-views-and-research/elections-act.

When are elections held?

UK Parliamentary elections should be held every five years. The last scheduled Parliamentary election took place on Thursday 8 June 2017 and a snap election on Thursday 12 December 2019.

Police Crime Commissioner elections are held every four years. The last Police Crime Commissioner elections took place on Thursday 6 May 2021, which was deferred from Thursday 7 May 2020 due to covid.

County Council elections are held every four years. The last County Council elections took place on Thursday 6 May 2021.

District Council elections are held every four years. The last District Council elections took place on Thursday 4 May 2023.

Parish and Town Council elections are held every four years. The last Parish and Town Council elections took place on Thursday 4 May 2023 and are held in combination with District Council elections.

By-elections and referendums can take place at any time and information will be included in the elections latest news section.

Wards

Newark & Sherwood District Council is made up of 21 wards.

A review of the wards by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England took place in 2014 and their final recommendations were in place for the elections in May 2015.

This review was to ensure that each Newark & Sherwood councillor represented roughly the same number of voters and that ward boundaries reflect the interests and identities of local communities.

View a map of all wards (PDF File, 3,268kb).

Polling places

In 2019, we completed a review of our polling districts and polling places.

The maps below show the polling places where you can cast your vote.