Earlier this week, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the next General Election will take place on Thursday 4th July 2024. That's in six weeks' time! We want to make sure that students' voices are heard when it comes to deciding who should lead the UK for the next four years. This means you will need to be registered to vote, and on voting day, you'll have to take some photographic ID with you. Here's some advice on what you'll need to do.
How do I register to vote?
To register to vote, you will need to provide your name, your date of birth, your nationality and your National Insurance number. It takes about five minutes to register to vote online, and the deadline for registering for the General Election is by midnight on Tuesday 18th June. Click the button below to get started. Remember, you'll only be able to vote in the UK general election if you are 18 or over on the day of the vote. If you're under 18, you can still register for future elections using the link below.
What kind of ID do I need on voting day?
Everyone will need to provide Photo ID to be able to vote in the General Election on 4th July. Lots of different forms of Photo ID are accepted, including passport, driving license and Young Scot card. You can see the full list here.
If you don't have any official photo ID, now is the time to get that sorted! Luckily, the National Union of Students (NUS) have teamed up with CitizenCard to provide FREE Photo ID for students (usually £18). Click on the button below to apply and use discount code "NUS" to get it for free.
I'm out of the country on election day. What can I do?
If you're not going to be available to vote on Thursday 4th July, for instance, if you're out of the country on holiday, you can apply to vote by post. The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on Wednesday 19th June. You will need to be registered to vote before you apply for a postal vote.
Where do I actually vote?
Once you have registered to vote, you'll receive a voting card via post which will tell you where your local polling station is. They are usually held in places like local primary schools, community centres, or sports clubs.
Who do I vote for?
Only you can decide that! The list of candidates that will be running in this General Election will be published after Friday 7th June.
The National Union of Students (NUS) has put together a list of useful questions around the UK General Election that you can explore more here. If you need further guidance, we're here to help. Feel free to chat to us via Live Chat on our website, or you can email our team at contact@ecsa.scot