Postal votes are available to anyone who would like to vote by post, provided they are on the Register of Electors. You may apply for a postal vote on a permanent basis or temporarily for a specific election or specific time period, such as a student while they're at university.
Postal votes are normally dispatched 11 working days in advance of an election in order to give the elector ample opportunity to fill out the ballot paper and return it to the Civic Centre before the close of poll on election day.
Postal vote applications need to be received at the Electoral Registration office by 5pm on the eleventh working day before an election is held in order to be considered valid for that election.
Rules for postal voting
Over recent years the number of electors in England choosing to vote by post has grown rapidly. The residents of Hillingdon have followed this national trend and now over 30,000 electors in our borough are registered as postal voters.
Changes in the law have changed some of the requirements for postal voting. Electors who wish to vote by post are required to provide their date of birth and a specimen of their signature for security purposes.
Under the Elections Act 2022, postal voters now required to re-apply for their postal vote every 3 years. This change is expected to go into effect in August 2023.
There will soon be an option to apply for a postal vote online. Until that option is available, you can apply to vote by post by downloading and returning this application to Electoral Services office.
Proxy voting
Proxy voting is available for electors who are unable to cast their vote in person and would prefer to have a trusted person cast their vote on their behalf. Only electors who are registered, or are applying to register, are entitled to apply to vote by proxy. Therefore, you must register to be on the electoral roll before or at the same time as you apply to vote by proxy.
The person you wish to appoint as your proxy can only act as proxy if they are 18 and are, or are applying to be, registered. A person cannot be a proxy for more than two people at any one election or referendum unless they are a close relative. Long term applications need to be supported by a professionally qualified person.
Download the form to vote by proxy at a particular election or referendum
After completing the form, you'll need to print it, sign it, and send it to the Electoral Services office. The deadline is 5pm, six working days before an election.
If you have appointed someone to vote on your behalf and they wish to do so by post, please email electoralservices@hillingdon.gov.uk to request a postal proxy form. This needs to be received 11 working days before an election.