Upcoming Elections

The Electoral Commission offers excellent guidance regarding the completion of nomination papers for an election. Please refer to their guidance or seek your own legal advice before completing a set of nomination papers.
Candidates and Election Agents can submit completed nomination papers by appointment only between 10am – 4pm from Monday 24 March 2025 and every working day thereafter between 10am – 4pm on Wednesday 2 April 2025.

We can also offer Election Agents appointments to informally check nomination papers before submission. Appointments can be made with the elections team by phone on 01843 577630 or email at electoral.services@thanet.gov.uk.

The Deputy Returning Officer will be holding a briefing outlining the process of the election from nominations to the count. The meeting will be held on Tuesday 11 March from 5.30 pm- 6.30pm in the Council Chamber please notify the elections team by phone or email if you wish to attend.

A blank nomination pack can be downloaded from the Electoral Commission’s website.

To vote in the elections – either at a polling station, by post, or by appointing someone you trust to vote on your behalf as your proxy you must first be registered to vote, which can be done  online in 15 minutes.

To apply for a postal vote you can download, print and complete a postal vote application form.

If you are thinking about voting by post, you can apply to do this now. This will make sure your application is processed early, and your postal vote can be sent to you more quickly once the candidates for the elections are confirmed.

If you aren’t able to cast your vote in person, you can ask someone you trust to cast your vote for you. This is called a proxy vote and the person casting your vote is often referred to as your proxy. The person voting on your behalf can either go to your polling station to cast your vote, or can apply to vote for you by post.

To apply for a proxy vote you can download, print and complete a form to vote by proxy explaining why you can’t get to your polling station in person.

To vote in any election in the UK, you must be registered to vote. It takes 15 minutes to register and you can do this online.

If you are unable to register online, you can apply by post. You can download and print the forms here.

Yes, voting by post is safe and proven cases of electoral fraud are rare. When voting by post, you should mark your vote on the ballot paper in secret, and seal the envelope yourself.

You will also be asked to give your date of birth and signature when applying for a postal or proxy vote. This makes postal voting safe, because when you return your postal voting pack your signature and date of birth are checked against those you provided to confirm your identity.

Your signature and date of birth are separated from your ballot paper before it is looked at or counted, so giving this information will not affect the secrecy of your vote.