You don't have to be a British citizen to vote in UK elections. To vote in a general election you must:
- be 18 or over on the day of the election
- be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen
- be resident at an address in the UK or living abroad and registered as an overseas voter
- not be legally excluded from voting
Use the 'Can I Vote?' tool developed by Citizens UK, Migrant Democracy Project and Just Register to find out whether you can vote. You can also find out more about eligibility on the UK government website.
It takes less than 5 minutes to register to vote. You'll be asked to provide your nationality, date of birth, national insurance number, and address. If you are eligible to vote but don't have a national insurance number DO NOT worry, you can still register without one.
The deadline to register to vote is 23:59 on Tuesday 18th June.
Remember you can register to vote at both your term-time (University) address and your home address. You just need to know you will only be able to cast your vote at one of the two, but you can decide!
You can register to vote online via the UK Government website here.
If you're going to be away for the general election or will be busy on polling day you can always register for a postal vote. The deadline to register for a postal vote is 5pm on Wednesday 19th June.
This general election will be the first in the UK to register photo ID. This means you will need to show a valid form of photo ID at polling stations to vote in person. There are 22 accepted forms of ID including passports and driving licences.
You can find a full list of acceptable forms of ID on the electoral commission website here.
Don't have a valid ID? Don't panic, NUS have you covered. NUS UK have teamed up with CitizenCard to provide students with Free ID cards which is an acceptable form of ID for polling day. For more details on how to get your free CitizenCard visit NUS' dedicated webpage here.
Once you're reigstered to vote, and before the 4th July, you'll be sent a poll card. On you're poll card you will be informed of where your polling station is, you will only be able to vote at the polling station location on your card. You do not need to take your poll card with you when voting (but don't forget your ID).
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on the day of the election (Thursday 4th July).
When you arrive at the polling station you will need to give your name and address to staff inside the polling station. You'll then need to show your photo ID. Once you've done this you'll be given a ballot paper and directed to a voting booth. Remember to follow the instructions on the ballot paper and place only one 'X' in the box next to the candidate you wish to vote for, unless you intend to spoil your ballot paper. You will then need to fold your ballot paper and place it in the ballot box.
Once you've voted you are all done, but why not encourage your friends and family to get out and vote, and follow the election results from 10pm. If you're unable to vote in-person, don't forget you can register for a postal vote here.