There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (commonly called 'general elections' when all seats are contested), elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies (in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and London), local elections, mayoral elections (in England), and police and crime commissioner elections (in England and Wales). Within each of those categories, there may also be by-elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday, and under the provisions of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 the timing of general elections can be held at the discretion of the prime minister during any five-year period. All other types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the devolved assemblies and parliaments can occur in certain situations. The five electoral systems used are: the single member plurality system (first-past-the-post), the multi-member plurality, the single transferable vote, the additional member system, and the supplementary vote.
Elections are administered locally: in each lower-tier local authority, the polling procedure is operated by the returning officer or acting returning officer, and the compiling and maintenance of the electoral roll by the electoral registration officer (except in Northern Ireland, where the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland assumes both responsibilities). The Electoral Commission sets standards for and issues guidelines to returning officers and electoral registration officers, and is responsible for nationwide electoral administration (such as the registration of political parties and directing the administration of national referendums).
Electoral registration
The total number of names in the United Kingdom appearing in Electoral Registers published on 1 December 2010 and based on a qualifying date of 15 October 2010 was 45,844,691.
Entitlement to vote
In England according to Representation of the People Act 1983, anyone who will be aged 18 or over on polling dayRepresentation of the People Act 1983, Section 4(5) and who is a national of any Commonwealth country,Sections 4(1)(c) and 4(3)(c), Representation of the People Act 1983 or Ireland, but excluding British protected persons, can apply to the electoral registration officer in the local authority area where they reside with a 'considerable degree of permanence' to be listed in that area's Electoral Register.
In Scotland and Wales, those fulfilling the nationality requirements (as stated in the previous paragraph), or who otherwise hold leave to remain (limited or indefinite) in the UK, who will be aged 16 or over on polling day can register to vote, as the age for voting in the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd respectively, and local elections in both countries is 16. However, voters in Scotland and Wales under 18 are not entitled to vote in UK general elections as the rules for voting for MPs differ.Registering to vote and the electoral register electoralcommission.org.uk, accessed 4 January 2016
A person can still register at their ordinary address if they will be away temporarily (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital). A person who has two homes (such as a university student who has a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) may be able to register to vote at both addresses as long as they are not in the same electoral area (though an elector can only vote once in any single election or referendum).
In addition, to qualify to appear on the Electoral Register, applicants who are Commonwealth citizens must either possess leave to enter or remain in the UK or not require such leave on the date of their applicationRepresentation of the People Act 1983, Section 4(6) and no applicant may be a convicted person detained in prison or a mental hospital (or unlawfully at large if they would otherwise have been detained)Representation of the People Act 1983, Sections 3 and 3A or a person found guilty of certain corrupt or illegal practices.Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 173
In Northern Ireland, from 1949 until 2014, a minimum of three months’ residency in the territory was required for registration. This requirement was removed in the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014.
Remand prisoners, voluntary patients in mental hospitals and people without a fixed place of residence can register to vote by making a declaration of local connection.
Members of HM Forces and their immediate family members have the option of registering as a service voter, by making a service declaration based on their last UK address.
British citizens (but not other categories of British nationals) residing outside the United Kingdom can register as an overseas voter provided that they were on the Electoral Register in the UK within the previous 15 years. The 15-year period begins when they no longer appeared in the electoral register, not the date they moved abroad. British citizens who moved abroad before they turned 18 years old can still qualify for registration, with the 15-years period calculated from the date their parent(s)/guardian ceased to appear in the Electoral Register. Overseas voters can only vote in UK parliamentary elections in the constituency of their last registered UK address (or for those who moved abroad as a minor, the last registered UK address of their parent(s)/guardian). British citizens who are away overseas temporarily do not need to register as overseas electors and can register to vote at their UK address. The right for overseas voters to vote in UK elections was revised in 2024; both the 15-year limitation and also the requirement to have already been on an electoral register were removed. A revised online registration procedure for voters (including overseas voters) was implemented on 16 January 2024.
Crown servantsRepresentation of the People Act 1983, Section 14(1)(b) and British Council employeesRepresentation of the People Act 1983, Section 14(1)(c) (as well as their spouses who live abroadRepresentation of the People Act 1983, Section 14(1)(e)) employed in a post outside the UK can register by making a Crown Servant declaration, allowing them to vote in all UK elections.
An individual can register as an anonymous elector if his/her safety (or that of any other person in the same household) would be at risk were his/her name and address to be disclosed publicly on the Electoral Register, but the application needs to be supported by a relevant court order, injunction or an attestation by a chief police officer or a Director of Social Services.Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 9B
The right of Commonwealth and Irish citizens to vote is a legacy of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which limited the vote to British subjects. At that time, "British subjects" included the people of Ireland — then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland — and all other parts of the British Empire. Though most of Ireland (see Ireland Act 1949) and the majority of the colonies became independent nations, their citizens have retained the right to vote if they live in the United Kingdom.
In theory, members of the Royal Family who are not members of the House of Lords (including those who are peers who lost their right to sit following the House of Lords Act 1999) are eligible to vote, although in practice they do not exercise that right."The Queen and Voting", "Royal Family official website".
Registration procedure
In Great Britain, most electors are enrolled during the course of the annual canvass, which electoral registration officers are obliged to conduct every year between August and November.Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 10 Canvass forms are sent to all households, and must be returned, otherwise a fine of £1000 can be imposed.Representation of the People Regulations 2001, Regulation 23(3) (in England and Wales); Representation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (in Scotland) One person in the household must confirm the details of all residents who are existing electors, which includes adding or deleting residents who have moved in or out and are eligible to register to vote.
Between December and early August, the rolling registration procedure applies instead. Applications must be submitted individually (unlike the annual canvass forms where one person is responsible for registering all eligible people in a household) using registration forms available from local electoral registration officers or the Electoral Commission's website. Although no proof of identity or address is necessary when submitting an application, the electoral registration officer can require the applicant to provide further information regarding the applicant's age, nationality, residence and whether or not they are disqualifiedRepresentation of the People Regulations 2001, Regulation 23 and/or evidence to prove the applicant's age and/or nationality.Representation of the People Regulations 2001, Regulation 24(2) Application forms can be returned to the local electoral registration officer by post, by fax or by e-mail as a scanned attachment.Representation of the People Regulations 2001, Regulation 6
As of June 2014, as part of the Government's Digital By Default policy, voters in England and Wales can register to the electoral roll online.
Special category electors do not register through the annual canvass procedure.Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 10(3) Instead, they submit applications at any time during the year and have to renew their electoral application periodically (every one year for overseas electors and voters with a declaration of local connection and every three years for service voters).
Applications are received by the electoral registration officer. The officer adds them to a list of applications (unless they are applications to register as an anonymous electorRepresentation of the People Regulations 2001, Regulations 28(2) and 29(2B)). The list is open for inspection for five working days, during which any other elector may raise an objection to an application. The electoral registration officer can initiate an application hearing if there are reasonable integrity concerns about the application.
In Northern Ireland, there is no annual canvass, and instead people register individually at any time during the year. Applicants must supply their National Insurance number or, if they do not have one, make a declaration to that effect. Proof of identity, address, three months' residency in NI and date of birth must also be included with applications, which are submitted by post to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.
Knowingly giving false information to an electoral registration officer anywhere in the UK is an offence with a maximum penalty, upon conviction, of £5,000 and/or six months' imprisonment.Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 13D
Electoral Register
Each district council or unitary authority has an Electoral Register which is compiled by the electoral registration officer listing all registered electors. The Electoral Register contains the name, qualifying address and electoral number of every ordinary elector, the name of every special category elector (such as service voters) and the electoral number of every anonymous elector. Any elector who was not aged 18 yet at the time of registration will also have his/her date of birth printed. Each district's Electoral Register is subdivided into separate registers for each polling district.Representation of the People Regulations 2001, Regulation 38