Hours left to apply for ID certificate ahead of Bucks and Herts local elections
Voters not yet in possession of a valid form of ID are being urged to apply for an emergency certificate
Voters in England have until 5pm today (April 23) to apply for a voter authority certificate if they do not possess an accepted form of photo ID ahead of next week’s local and mayoral elections.
On May 1, elections will be held for 1,641 council seats across 23 local authorities. Voters will also elect four regional mayors, two local mayors, and a new MP for the Runcorn & Helsby constituency.
Only certain forms of photo ID will be accepted at polling stations. These include a passport, photocard driving licence, blue badge, and older person’s bus pass.
Those without valid ID must apply for a free certificate via gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate.
The photo ID requirement was introduced under the Elections Act 2022 and first applied in England in 2023. Voters in Northern Ireland have been required to show ID since 2003.
In the week to April 21, an average of 219 voter authority certificate applications were submitted each day, the highest weekly total this year. However, just 9% came from people under 25 and 4% from those aged 75 and over. The highest share came from those aged 55 to 64, accounting for 28% of applications.
Voters applying for the certificate must provide a photo, full name, date of birth, registered address, and national insurance number. Applications can be made online or via a paper form available from local councils.
Of the 23 local authorities holding elections, 14 are county councils: Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire.
The remaining are the unitary authorities of Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Durham, North Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, West Northamptonshire, and Wiltshire, as well as Doncaster Metropolitan Council.
All council seats are being contested, though boundary changes will result in fewer councillors in some areas.
Combined authority mayoral elections will take place in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Greater Lincolnshire, Hull & East Yorkshire, and the West of England. Single-authority mayoral elections will be held in Doncaster and North Tyneside.
No elections are scheduled in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.
The Runcorn & Helsby by-election was triggered by the resignation of Mike Amesbury, who won the seat for Labour in the July 2024 general election but was suspended by the party after receiving a suspended prison sentence for assault. He had been sitting as an independent MP.