Registering to vote

The voting process should be accessible to all voters.

We offer a range of support for voters with disabilities to enable them to vote independently or with assistance. The Elections Act 2022 introduces changes to further assist disabled voters at polling stations.

Ways to register

Online
Register online on the GOV.UK website.

By telephone
In certain circumstances, the Electoral Services Team can assist residents to register over the phone.

Telephone 020 7361 3444 with your:

• National Insurance number
• date of birth

Assistance of a friend or relative

If you are a voter with a disability or require additional support to complete a ballot paper on your own, you can take a friend or relative to the polling station to help you. They:

• do need to be over 18
• do not have to be eligible to vote
• will not need to bring their photo ID

Our polling station staff will also be able to help you. Polling station staff or your companion can help you in a number of ways such as reading out the candidates’ names and their descriptions printed on the ballot paper. They must not tell you how you vote, as that is your decision.

If you do not wish to vote in person at a polling station, you can vote by post or by proxy.

Accessible polling stations

To help make polling stations accessible we will ensure polling stations are:

• wheelchair accessible, and ramps are provided where needed
• adapted for wheelchair users
• adequately lit and extra lighting is provided where required

We will ensure:

• large print versions of ballot papers and tactile voting devices are in each polling station, to enable voters with a visual impairment to mark their ballot paper(s) independently
• hearing loops are available
• large magnifiers and pencil grips are available
• polling station staff wear badges so that they are easy to identify

'Easy Read' guidance

For voters with a learning disability

View easy read guides about:

• What your vote does
• Your rights
• Registering to vote
• How to register to vote

• Voter ID and how to apply for the voter ID certificate
• How to vote in person
• How to register for postal voting
• How to register for proxy voting.

For voters who are partially sighted, blind or deaf

Voting and elections: what you need to know (RNIB website)

The Electoral Commission have produced British Sign Language (BSL) videos: 

• How to register to vote
• Which forms of ID you can use to vote
• Applying for a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC)
• What will happen at the polling station