The 2024 United Kingdom General Election took place on Thursday 4 July 2024
Election Results
You can view the election results for Guildford here
You can view the results for the whole of the UK here
How To Register To Vote
The deadline to register to vote was midnight 18 June 2024 – You can register to vote here
You need to register to vote every time you change address.
Who Can Vote?
Students are allowed to register to vote at more than one address. If you study away from home, you can register to vote at both your home address and your term-time address. However, this does not mean that you can vote more than once in elections taking place on the same day. It’s important to note you will need to register for a “redirection” if you want to vote in your term time constituency but will be living elsewhere – details here
To be eligible to register to vote for UK Parliament elections, you must:
- be resident in the constituency
- be of voting age – 18 years old – or reach voting age in the next year or so
- be either a British, qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland
- and not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote.
Citizens of the UK, Ireland, and Commonwealth nations can register to vote for UK Parliament elections as long as they meet other residence and qualifying requirements.
Citizens of other nations cannot vote in UK Parliament elections regardless of how long they have been resident in the UK. This includes EU citizens.
Citizens with dual nationality can register to vote in the UK. For example, if someone has dual French and British nationality, they can register to vote as a British citizen.
Electoral registration officers will process an application to register based on the nationality that will give a person the highest level of voting rights.
Irish citizens who are resident in the UK have full voting rights. The voting rights of Irish nationals in the UK derive form the historical links between the two countries. They are not derived from Ireland’s EU membership nor from the UK’s former EU membership.
A qualifying Commonwealth citizen is someone who is resident in the UK and who has leave to remain in the UK or does not require leave to remain.
Electoral registration officers can check the immigration status of applicants from a Commonwealth nation.
Malta and Cyprus are both Commonwealth and EU countries. Citizens of both countries have voting rights to all elections in the UK, if they are resident and fulfil all other criteria, because of their Commonwealth status.
What If I Am Away On The 4 July?
If you are away from home on 4 July, or you want to vote at your term-time address despite being at home, you can apply for a postal vote or a proxy vote.
The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 17:00 on Wednesday 19 June.
The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 17:00 on Wednesday 26 June.
Candidates
The list of candidates for this election will be published after Friday 7 June 2024.
Hustings Event – 26 June
A hustings is a meeting where election candidates or parties debate policies and answer questions from the audience. The University’s Politics Department and Politics Society are holding an in-person Hustings event on 26 June in the Rik Medlik Building, room 03MS01 from 17:30 to 19:30. There will be a reception from 17:30-18:00, followed by questions from 18:00-19:00 and extra time for other matters till 19:30. The event is free to attend.
Your Polling Station
You’ll get a poll card in the post before the election. This will tell you where to vote. If you haven’t received your polling card, and you’re unsure where you can vote, check with your local council.
Polling Station Opening Times : Thursday 4 July 2024 — 7:00 – 22:00
Whilst you must show photo ID to vote, you don’t need a poll card to be able to vote.
Voter ID
There is a requirement that voters in England show photo ID to vote at polling stations in most elections. You can use one of the following most common forms of identification:
- Passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country
- Driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state (this includes a provisional driving licence)
- Disabled Person’s Bus Pass funded by the Government of the United Kingdom
- Identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
Student ID cards issued by universities or colleges do not count as valid photo ID in UK elections. There are more forms of valid identification so if you do not hold one of the accepted photo ID options listed above, first check the Electoral Commission website to see if you have another option already.
If you don’t have any of the accepted photo ID listed on the Electoral Commission website, you can apply for a free voter ID document, which is known as a Voter Authority Certificate. Details here on how to apply.
