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Absent voting benefits people who would otherwise struggle to get to their local polling station on election day.
However, if you want to make your choice by post you must apply by 5pm next Wednesday (19 June).
The quickest way to do this is online.
You’ll need:
- the address where you’re registered to vote
- your National Insurance number (or other identity documents)
- a clear photograph of your handwritten signature in black ink on plain white paper.
Postal vote packs will start to be dispatched by Royal Mail on Tuesday (18 June) to voters who had registered for a postal vote by 30 May.
Electors sometimes return their completed postal vote forms, and those for friends and family, to the Town Hall in Weston-super-Mare or a polling station by hand.
However, there have been changes to the law and there is now a limit on how many postal votes a person can take in. You won’t be allowed to hand in more than five ballot packs for other electors, plus your own.
You must also complete a short ‘return of postal voting documents’ form, which asks for your name, address and reason for handing in a postal vote.
Postal votes can only be returned to the Town Hall during office hours: 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
If this form is not completed with all the required information, the postal vote(s) must be rejected by law.
We strongly advise that all postal votes are returned to us via Royal Mail.
Proxy voting
A trusted friend or relative can vote on your behalf in person at a polling station if you can’t get there on the day.
Both the voter and their proxy must be registered to vote, and the person acting as a proxy must be able to attend the voter’s polling station. The proxy must also have their own accepted form of voter ID.
The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June.
A person can only be a proxy for up to two people in the UK, regardless of your relationship.
Overseas voting rights
British citizens living abroad can register to vote regardless of how long they’ve been out of the country.
If you have friends or family living overseas, let them know they can apply online and vote in the general election.