Don’t miss out – Have you registered to vote?

3 June 2024

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Group of students in discussion in boardroom with laptop

You probably know that a general election has been called for Thursday 4 July 2024, so are you ready to have your say and cast your vote?

Your vote matters. To vote in the General Election you must be registered to vote by 23:59 on Tuesday 18 June 2024 and:

be 18 or over on the day of the election (polling day)
be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen
be resident at an address in the UK (or a British citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years)
not be legally excluded from voting

How to register

As a student, you may be able to register to vote at both your home address and your term-time address but you can only vote once in a general election. Keep in mind that this election falls outside of term-time.

You can register to vote online, it usually takes about five minutes. You can also register to vote if you're living overseas at the moment and if you'd prefer, you can register to vote anonymously.

Are you an international student?

Qualifying Commonwealth citizens who have leave to enter or remain in the UK, or don’t require that leave, may be eligible to vote. Examples of Commonwealth countries include Canada, India and Singapore.

Already registered?

If you think you've already registered to vote, you can check this with your local electoral services team.

Voter ID

A physical form of voter ID is now required to cast a vote across the UK. Your student ID is not considered a valid form of voter ID. Students can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate by 17:00 Wednesday 26 June or a Free CitizenCard via NUS by Thursday 20 June.

Ways to vote

You can choose to vote in person, by post, or by proxy. As part of the Elections Act, there are changes to voting by post and proxy.

For voting by post, you can now apply online and you need to reapply for a postal vote every three years. For voting by proxy, there are limits to how many people you can act as a proxy for and you can apply online for some types of proxy vote.

Find out more

Durham SU President Dan Lonsdale on making your voice heard

What is a qualifying Commonwealth citizen?

Asking for help to vote