Elections and voting

UK Parliamentary Election - Thursday 4 July 2024

The next General Election will take place on Thursday 4 July 2024.

A full list of candidates can be found on the Statement of Persons nominated listed below.

Results for this election can be found Elections (opens new window)

Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby (Ormesby Ward) Parish By-Election - Thursday 8 August 2024

Rollesby Parish By-Election - Thursday 8 August 2024

Review of Polling Districts and Places 2023

Every council is required to undertake and complete a review of all polling districts and polling places within its administrative boundary at least once every five years. The last review was completed in January 2020. The new review begins 9 October 2023 and ends 16 November 2023.

The aim of the review is to ensure that:

• electors in the constituency have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances
• as far as is reasonable and practicable, the polling places the council is responsible for are accessible to all electors and, when considering the designation of a polling place, must have regard to the accessibility needs of disabled persons

The review will not consider ward boundaries, divisions or parliamentary constituencies.

The final recommendations were formally approved by council at their meeting on 14 December 2023.  No changes were made.

Related documentation:

• Notice of review of polling districts, polling places and polling stations for 2023
• List of the existing polling areas
• Review of Polling Districts, Polling Places and Polling Stations 2023, Acting Returning Officer (ARO) response and suggestions.
• Comments received on polling station review
• Final submission with recommendations to Council

Results of local elections held in recent years are available on our Elections (opens new window) page. This will include the results of the UK Parliamentary election to be held on 4 July 2024.

The UK Government is changing how you vote, and how we conduct elections, through the Elections Act 2022

From May 2023, you will be required to show photo ID, such as a passport or a photocard driving licence, when you vote at your polling station.

These changes will apply at Great Yarmouth Borough Council and parish council elections being held on Thursday 4 May 2023. 

You will need to show photographic identification if you are one of the following:

• a voter visiting a polling station to vote
• a proxy voter who is visiting a polling station to vote on someone's behalf

Acceptable forms of ID

This includes:

• a passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country
• a photocard driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or an EEA state
• a biometric immigration document
• an identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
• Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
• a Blue Badge
• a national identity card issued by an EEA state
• an older person's bus pass
• a disabled person's bus pass
• an Oyster 60+ card
• a Freedom Pass
• a Scottish National Entitlement Card (NEC) issued in Scotland
• a 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales
• a Disabled Person's Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales
• a Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• a Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person's SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• a War Disablement SmartPass or War Disabled SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• a 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• a Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• an Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland

Expired documents will be accepted as suitable photo ID, providing the photograph is still a good likeness.

If you do not have one of the accepted forms of photo ID, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (opens new window). This is a free service. 

You must be registered to vote in order to apply. If you need to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate, make sure you do so in good time ahead of it being required at the polling station. The deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate for local elections taking place on 4 May 2023 is 5pm on Tuesday 25 April 2023. 

Applications to register to vote for the forthcoming UK Parliamentary election must be made by 11:59pm on Tuesday 18 June. You can register online via the Register to vote page on the GOV.UK website (opens new window) .  You can also use this service to update your name and re-register if you have moved house. 

Alternatively, a paper form can be requested by contacting the Elections team:

• by telephone on 01493 846327
• by email to elections@great-yarmouth.gov.uk

Remember, each time you move house you need to register to vote at your new address. You also need to re-apply for any postal or proxy voting arrangements you may have had previously! 

To vote in a UK Parliamentary election you must:

• be registered to vote 
• be 18 or over on the day of the election ('polling day')
• be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth (opens new window) citizen
• be resident at an address in the UK or living abroad and registered as an overseas voter
• not be legally excluded from voting

Voters have a range of options for casting their ballot:

• in person
• by post
• by appointing someone they trust to vote in their place, known as a proxy.

Voting In Person

You can vote at the polling station within your ward, this station will be identified on your poll card. Polling stations are open 7am to 10pm.

• Polling stations for the UK Parliamentary election on Thursday 4 July 

Please remember, you will be required to show an official form of photographic identification (ID) when you vote in person at a polling station.

Acceptable forms of ID include:

• a passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country
• a driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or an EEA state
• a biometric immigration document
• an identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
• Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
• a Blue Badge
• a national identity card issued by an EEA state
• an Older Person's Bus Pass
• a Disabled Person's Bus Pass
• an Oyster 60+ Card
• a Freedom Pass
• a Scottish National Entitlement Card issued in Scotland
• a 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales
• a Disabled Person's Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales
• a Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• a Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person's SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• a War Disablement SmartPass or War Disabled SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• a 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• a Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• an Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland

If you do not have any of the accepted forms of ID you can apply online for a free Voter Authority Certificate (opens new window) - this is a photographic identity document specifically for the purpose of voting.

Voting by post

Postal voting packs are sent between 12 and 6 working days before election day and include a prepaid envelope for their return. Your postal vote must be returned before the deadline, 10pm on 4 Thursday 4 July, or it will not be counted.

If you miss the post, you can hand deliver your postal vote and the postal vote of up to 5 other people at the locations below during the stated times. You must complete and sign a declaration form when handing in postal vote(s). If the declaration form is not completed the postal vote(s) will be rejected.
 

• Postal votes can be hand delivered to our council offices at the Town Hall, Great Yarmouth NR30 2QF. Postal votes can only be hand delivered to this location during normal business hours. Postal votes must be handed in and a declaration signed in order to be valid. Please do not post your postal vote(s) through the on-site letter box as they will be rejected. 
• On polling day, you can hand in postal votes to any polling station in the electoral area between 7am and 10pm. You must complete and sign a declaration, which will be available from the polling station staff. 

Please note there are different rules for political campaigners, you can find further details by viewing the Electoral Commission Code of Conduct for Campaigners (opens new window)

The deadline for new postal and postal proxy applications, and for changes to existing postal or proxy votes, for the forthcoming general election is 5pm on Wednesday 19 June. You can apply for a postal vote online -   apply for a postal vote (opens new window)

Voting by proxy

If you are not able to vote in person at a polling station and you do not wish to vote by post, you can appoint someone else to vote for you. 

Proxy voting means asking someone to vote on your behalf at the polling station. A proxy vote counts the same as any other vote and is subject to the same security and secrecy provisions.

If you apply for a proxy vote you will have to provide a reason, for example you may be working or studying away from home or on holiday. You will need to nominate someone to vote on your behalf according to your wishes.

The deadline for new proxy vote applications (not including postal proxy) for the forthcoming general election is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June. You can apply for a proxy vote online - apply for a proxy vote (opens new window)

39 borough councillors represent 17 electoral wards and nine county councillors represent nine county divisions. The elected councillors serve for four years.

The parliamentary constituency covers the same area as the Borough boundary and one Member of Parliament represents the Great Yarmouth constituency.

There are two registers.

Using information received from the public, registration officers keep two registers:

• the electoral register
• the open register (also known as the edited register)

The electoral register

The electoral register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in public elections. The register is used for electoral purposes, such as making sure only eligible people can vote. It is also used for other limited purposes specified in law, such as:

• detecting crime (eg fraud)
• calling people for jury service
• checking credit applications

The open register

The open register is an extract of the electoral register, but is not used for elections. It can be bought by any person, company or organisation. For example, it is used by businesses and charities to confirm name and address details.

Your name and address will be included in the open register unless you ask for them to be removed. Removing your details from the open register does not affect your right to vote.

Every year we are required to carry out an annual check of the electoral register to ensure the information we hold is correct. Correspondence will be sent to each household in the borough during September and October and will list everyone currently registered to vote at the property.

Please follow the information given on the letter.

If any of the details have changed and need updating, or someone needs to be added or removed, please inform us via the:

• HEF response website (opens new window)

You will need both parts of the security code, which can be found on the form, to complete this process.

Please remember if anyone new is added to the form this is not the end of the process. They will still be required to register individually and can do so by registering online (opens new window), or we can send a form.

We are required by law to publish how many signatures of registered voters are required on a petition on whether we should change to a different form of governance, for example having a mayor.

Electors can petition the Council to hold a referendum. The petition must be signed by at least 5% of the registered electors for the district. This is known as the verification number.

The Local Authorities (Referendums)(Petitions)(England) Regulations 2011

In accordance with Regulation 4(1) of the above regulations, the number that is equal to 5% of the number of local government electors shown in the revised register of electors having effect on the 15 February 2024 is 3,650.

This figure will have effect for the purposes of determining the validity of petitions presented from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

The number equal to 5% of the local government electors for 2025 will be published within 14 days of 15 February 2025. If this number is less than 3,650, the number to be used for verification purposes in relation to any petition submitted for the period beginning on the date of publication of the lower number until 31 March 2025, shall also be that lower number.

Sheila Oxtoby
Electoral Registration Officer
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Town Hall
Great Yarmouth
Norfolk
NR30 2QF

2 February 2024

Your personal information is processed by us for the purposes of registering your right to vote as part of the electoral service, as required by law.

Please read our Electoral Services privacy notice for full details of what we collect and how we store and use your information, and your rights under the legislation.

Business Improvement District (BID)

A Business Improvement District or BID is an arrangement whereby businesses collaborate to decide what services and improvements (in addition to those already provided by the business rates) they wish to make in their location, how they are going to manage and deliver those improvements and what they are prepared to pay to make them happen.

The Greater Yarmouth Town Centre BID Ballot

This is to give notice that a ballot is to be held on renewing the Business Improvement District (BID) arrangements in respect of the Great Yarmouth Town Centre.

The ballot will be conducted entirely by post by the Ballot Holder, Electoral Services, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Great Yarmouth NR30 2QF. Ballot papers will be sent to those eligible to vote on Wednesday 17 February 2021 for return by no later than 5pm on Thursday 18 March 2021 (the day of the ballot).

The count took place on Friday 19 March and the results (PDF) [17KB] (opens new window) declared. 

The BID proposer

The BID proposer is:

• Greater Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership
  Unit 5 Wilkinsons Yard
  Market Gates
  Great Yarmouth

If you require further information on the voting process please contact:

• The Electoral Services Team
  Great Yarmouth Borough Council
  Great Yarmouth NR30 2QF
  t: 01493 846327
  e: elections@great-yarmouth.gov.uk