UK people, you’re all registered (if you’re eligible), right?
Okay, so the election is next Thursday, June 8th.
Have you got a polling card? That will tell you where to go to vote. Look it up. Find out how to get there. If you’re able bodied, it’s probably within walking distance of your home. If you’re not, pre-arrange transport. If you’re struggling to sort transport, contact the candidate you want to vote for, because most candidate’s support campaigns are arranging transport. They want you to vote!
Plan exactly when you’re going to vote. Book out the time in your diary or your calendar or set up a Google alert, whatever works best for you. If you plan, you’re more likely to do it.
Your polling station will open at 7am. That means you can go on your way to work or college in the morning, if it’s convenient.
Your polling station will stay open until 10pm. So if you forget until you’re home for the evening, you can still go and vote! As long as you’re in line by 10pm, you can still vote.
It’s really easy. You don’t have to take your polling card with you. You don’t have to give your voting number to the campaigners outside the polling station. You don’t need ID. You just need to go to the polling station listed on your polling card.
When you get to the desk inside, give your name and address to the person waiting. They’ll mark you off on their list - that stops anyone else being able to vote by claiming to be you. Then they’ll give you a voting paper that lists all the candidates standing for election in your constituency, next to the names of their parties. (Your voting paper won’t list Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn, unless you live in their constituency.)
Take your voting paper to one of the little booths - in our polling station, these are tables with sheltering hoods built over them so no one else can see what you’re writing. There are pencils in there. (You can take your own pen if you want to, but honestly, all the stuff about people erasing your vote and writing in a vote for another candidate is just scaremongering. People counting votes don’t have time to change votes.)
Mark a cross in the box next to the candidate you want to vote for. Don’t write rude things or draw rude things next to candidates you don’t like - any mark other than the one next to your chosen candidate could mean that your vote is spoiled and won’t be counted. (If you want to spoil your vote, you are free to do so. I’d really rather you didn’t, but it’s your choice.)
When you’ve made your mark, fold the paper up and put it in one of the boxes that are there to collect votes.
And that’s it! You’ve exercised your democratic rights! Go you! Time for the pub.
dailybridgerton
germansingergirl
blakekathryn
tangentwithtanner
