People across North Yorkshire urged to register to vote
The deadline is now less than a week away
There are warnings time is running out for people across North Yorkshire to register to vote in this years general election.
There is now less than a week to go until the deadline with voters risking being turned away from polling booths if they are not on the electoral register.
Christopher Kirkland is a senior lecturer in politics at York St John University and is encouraging everyone to have their say: "We sit here and we talk about policy and we talk about intricate detail, but at the end of the day the way the electoral system is, the way democracies are, it's about we the electorate want to see happen."
The deadline is midnight next Tuesday (18th June). Alternatively the electoral registration office must get your postal vote application by 5pm next Wednesday (19 June).
"Postal votes are now being used by more and more people, people who would previously you would have expected to go to their local polling station, that's an interesting trend. All the indications I've seen so far suggest that will increase again, based on the 2019 figure."
He also says social media is playing an increasingly important part in the election: "Social media allows voters to add their own interactions, in a way that traditional media doesn't. We are quite passive when we watch TV or listen to radio bulletins, you might shout at the TV or the radio but that doesn't really influence things in the same way."
"On social media you can respond, you can react and others can see and read those reactions certainly on twitter, Facebook, they see those reactions and can engage with those."
When is the 2024 General Election?
The General Election will take place on Thursday, July 4th 2024.
Polls open at 7am and close at 10pm, although if you are in the queue to vote at 10pm, you'll be allowed to vote even if you haven't been given a ballot paper yet.
The date was set when Rishi Sunak called the election in May on a rainy day in Downing Street.
Who can vote?
British citizens over the age of 18 can vote, as long as they’re registered to vote.
You need to register to vote by midnight on 18th June
Who am I voting for?
You vote for your local MP wherever you are registered to vote – party leaders aren’t included on the ballot unless you happen to live in their constituency.
There are 650 MP seats up for grabs. Each MP represents a constituency across the UK.
The party that wins most seats goes into government, and their party leader becomes Prime Minister.
Which parties can I vote for where I live?
The big parties have candidates in nearly all seats, but exactly who you can vote for varies depending on where you live.
There are parties which only run in particular countries as well as Independent candidates running in some constituencies.
Find out who is standing in the General Election where you live.
Your constituency might have changed
It's also worth noting that the seat you're voting for might have changed. Lots of constituency boundaries have changed to make up for population changes in those areas.
Have a look at an interactive map of the new constituencies or see the differences between the old and new constituencies using this tool from the UK Parliament's website.
What ID do I need to take when I vote?
New rules introduced in April 2022, means you need to show valid photo ID for some elections, including a parliamentary election like this.
So you will need to take one of 22 forms of photographic ID with you to the polling station.
A driving licence and UK and EU passports are included in the list - find the full list of valid IDs for elections here.
What can I NOT do when voting?
You’re not allowed to take a selfie while voting.
Because voting is done in secrecy, you're not allowed to take a photo of yourself voting, but you can take photos of yourself (and your dog) outside the polling station.
Where do I need to go to vote?
There are around 40,000 polling stations open on Election day where you can cast your vote.
The location of your polling station will be on a polling card delivered to your registered address, you can also find your local polling station here.
You can vote by post, but you have to register for a postal vote by 5pm on Wednesday 19 June.
What effect will the election have on my day?
Many polling stations are community halls, village halls and church halls so many weekly classes that happen on a Thursday are cancelled so it can be turned into an election polling station!
Some polling stations are located within schools, so your children's school might be closed.
When will we know the winner of the general election?
We should know the result of the election and who our Prime Minister is early on July 5th.
Most areas count votes through the night, so a result could be around 5am or earlier, but this depends on how close the results are and whether re-counts are needed.
How much do MPs get paid?
The basic salary for an MP is £91,346, the Prime Minister gets an extra £75,440 on top.
Why do people take photos of their dogs when they vote?
Voting is a really important way of having a say in the democracy of your country, but one of the cuter things to have appeared recently on election days is a social media trend - #dogsatpollingstations.
Lots of people take photos of their hounds at polling stations and post them to social media with the hashtag #dogsatpollingstations