Guidance for Returning Officers administering Local Government Elections in England

Proxy vote applications require verification of identity. Where identity cannot be verified against DWP records, the ERO has up to and including polling day to receive the required evidence or necessary attestation from the applicant and make a determination. 

Information about applications to appoint a proxy made by an applicant for a person to vote on their behalf1  that are made by 5pm, six working days before polling day will be provided to you by the ERO once those applications have had been through identity verification and been determined. You must supply Presiding Officers with the relevant parts of this list of proxies.2

You may need to make an alteration to the printed register if a proxy has applied to vote by post and the application is determined close to the poll. Our guidance on Polling station registers and absent voting lists has more information on alterations that may be made to the register after they have been printed. The polling station register must be marked with an ‘A’ against the name of the elector, as any elector who has appointed a proxy and their proxy has applied to vote by post can no longer vote in the polling station.3 A separate list will contain the details of postal proxies.

Restrictions on proxy voting

A person cannot have more than one appointed proxy for local government elections in the same electoral area at any time.4

A person is not entitled to vote as proxy at the same local government elections on behalf of more than four electors. Within the four electors, no more than two electors can be domestic electors. Domestic electors are those electors who are not registered via a service declaration.5

It is an offence:

• for a person to knowingly appoint a proxy who is already acting as a proxy for two or more domestic electors6
• for a person who is registered as a service voter to knowingly appoint a proxy who is already acting as a proxy for four or more electors (of which no more than two electors can be domestic electors )7
• to vote as proxy for more than two domestic electors8   
• to vote as proxy for more than four electors (of which no more than two electors can be domestic electors)9