The UK will be holding a General Election on Thursday 4th of July. Students make up 10% of the voting population, and it’s crucial for your voice to be heard and that as many students as possible vote in the election.
Register to Vote
If you’re not already registered to vote, the deadline to do is Tuesday 18th of June. Registering to vote only takes a few minutes of your time, and once you’re registered you can vote in any UK election that you’re eligible to vote in.
You can register to vote if you’re a British or Irish citizen, or if you have permission to stay in the UK and you’re:
- A Commonwealth citizen
- A citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, or Spain
- A citizen of another EU country, if you have had permission to enter or stay since 31st December 2020
To register to vote, you will need to the visit the UK Government website at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. You’ll need to give your name, date of birth, nationality, and your National Insurance Number. Students are allowed to register at more than one address, however, it is illegal to vote in two places in a General Election.
What am I voting for?
At the General Election, you will be voting to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. The UK is divided into 650 constituencies, with an MP representing each constituency. Click here to find out where your constituency is.
On election day, you need to vote for your preferred candidate at your local polling station. Under the ‘first past the post’ system, the candidate with the most votes will become the MP for that constituency.
Don’t forget your voter ID!
You now need to have valid photo ID in order to vote in UK elections, including the General Election. To view the full list of accepted IDs, visit the Electoral Commission website by clicking here.
As a student, you can now get a free Voter ID from CitizenCard. All you need to do is visit https://www.nus.org.uk/citizencard to sign up for your free card.
If you don’t have an accepted form of ID, you can apply for a free voter ID document via the UK government website, here.
Useful links and further information
- Found out whether you’re eligible to vote in the election here.
- For information from the UK Government on voting the election, click here.
- For information from NUS about the election, click here.