Local elections in England 2024 media guide

Anyone who wants to stand as a candidate must be at least 18 years old, and a British or qualifying Commonwealth citizen, or a citizen of a European Union country. 

Anyone wanting to stand at a local government election will need the signatures of a proposer and seconder from the ward and must meet at least one of the following four qualifications:  

• Be, and continue to be, registered to vote in the local authority area that they are standing in, from the day of their nomination onwards
• Occupy, as owner or tenant, any land or other premises in the local authority area that they are standing in, during the whole of the 12 months before the day of their nomination and the day of election
• Their main or only place of work must be in the local authority area that they are standing in. This applies to the 12 months prior to the day of their nomination and the day of election 
• Have lived in the local authority area that they are standing in during the whole of the 12 months before the day of their nomination and the day of election

In order to stand at a local authority mayoral election, candidates will additionally need:

• The signatures of thirty registered voters from the local authority on their nomination form

In order to stand at a combined authority mayoral election, candidates will also need to meet the qualifications listed above and have:

• the signatures of 100 electors
• at least ten of the subscribers must come from each constituent council in the combined authority area

The rules around standing for election and the disqualifications that apply are complex. Further information can be found in the Electoral Commission’s guidance for candidates and agents.

No - anyone who wants to stand as a candidate can submit nomination papers for more than one ward, but they cannot stand for election in more than one ward within the same local authority after the deadline for withdrawals. 

Someone could, however, stand for election as both a local councillor and a combined authority mayor but could only be elected to one. 

The earliest that a person can officially become a candidate is 26 March, the last day that the notice of election can be published. If a person has already declared themselves a candidate at the election, or the party has announced the candidate’s intention to stand, then they will officially become a candidate on this date.

If they declare that they will be a candidate at the elections after 26 March, they become a candidate on that day, or the date they formally submit their nominations papers – whichever is earliest.

The relevant returning officer will publish the full list of candidates standing in their local authority or combined authority area. This will happen by 4pm on Monday 8 April. 

This information will usually be available on the respective local authority website.

Candidates can start campaigning at any time. They do not have to wait until they are validly nominated to declare that they will run for election, ask people to support them or publish campaign material. 

Election spending limits apply from the day after a person officially becomes a candidate. 

It is illegal to make a false statement about the personal character of a candidate to influence the result of the election. The police may investigate allegations of the specific electoral offence of making a false statement.

Rules about defamation also apply to election materials. Defamation issues are a matter for the civil courts.

The Electoral Commission does not have a regulatory role in relation to the content of campaign material or what candidates say about each other. However, we do encourage all campaigners to undertake their vital role responsibly and to support campaign transparency.

By law, candidates, parties and non-party campaigners must use ‘imprints’ on all their printed campaign material. An imprint includes the name and address of the printer and promoter (the person who authorised the material to be printed). It must be included on all printed material such as posters, placards and leaflets. This is so that voters can be clear about the source of the campaign material. It is an offence not to include an imprint on printed election material.

The UK Government's Elections Act 2022 introduced a legal requirement to place an imprint on all paid digital political adverts and some other digital campaign materials (e.g. websites, emails and social media platforms).  

For more information, please see our guidance on print and digital imprints.

Once someone becomes a candidate, they are entitled to receive, free of charge, a copy of the full electoral register and the lists of people voting by post or proxy (the absent voters’ lists) for the electoral area that they are contesting.

Candidates may only use the full electoral register to help them complete their nomination form, to campaign and to check that donations they receive come from a permissible source. 

Candidates must not release any details that appear in the electoral register (this is different from information on the open register, which is available for general sale).
 

Anyone wanting to vote on 2 May must be registered to vote by 11:59pm on Tuesday 16 April. Voters can register online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. 

People can still register by completing a paper registration form if they prefer. They can contact their local electoral registration office for forms or download them on the UK Government’s website.

A person can vote in the 2 May elections if they are on the local government register in an area where elections are taking place, and if they are:

• aged 18 or over on polling day
• a British citizen
• an Irish, EU or qualifying Commonwealth citizen

British citizens living overseas who are registered as overseas voters cannot vote in local government elections. Service voters stationed abroad are eligible to vote in local government elections. 

More information on eligibility can be found on our website.

In some cases, voters may be eligible to register at two different addresses. For example, if they own two homes or if they are a student living away from home. It is for the local electoral registration officer to determine whether someone is eligible to register.

If an individual is registered to vote in two different local authority areas, then at May’s local elections they are legally entitled to vote in both of those areas. 

However, it is an offence to vote twice in the same local authority area.

Remand prisoners (those who have not been convicted and sentenced) can vote. Convicted prisoners detained because of their sentence cannot vote at the elections taking place 2 May. 

In some limited circumstances, prisoners released on temporary licence may meet the criteria to register to vote.

Voters across England are required to bring photo ID to vote in person in a polling station, following new requirements introduced by the Elections Act. A form of free ID, the Voter Authority Certificate, is available for those who do not have another type of accepted ID.

If voters lose their existing form of ID, or if it is stolen or damaged and the deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate has passed, people will be able to appoint an emergency proxy to vote on their behalf up until 5pm on polling day.

Voters who are registered to vote anonymously but wish to vote in person must have an Anonymous Elector's Document in order to vote.

Accepted forms of ID at polling stations include a UK, European Economic Area (EEA) or Commonwealth passport; a UK or EEA drivers’ licence; and some concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass or an Oyster 60+ card. The full list is available here. Voters will be able to use expired ID if they are still recognisable from the photo.

Those that do not have an accepted form can apply for free voter ID.

Anyone without an accepted form of ID can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate at voter-authority-certificate.service.gov.uk, or by requesting a paper form from their local council.

Anyone who needs to apply for free ID, in order to vote in the May 2024 elections, must do so before 5pm on 24 April. 

The voting system used to elect councillors, local authority mayors and combined authority mayors is ‘first past the post’. 

• Voters can choose from a list of candidates on the ballot paper who will either be part of a political party or standing as an independent candidate. A voter should simply put an X (a cross) next to the one candidate that they wish to vote for. The ballot paper will indicate how many candidates the voter may chose.
• Under this system, the candidate with the most votes is elected. In some authorities, there may be two or more seats to fill in each ward, in this instance the candidate with the most votes is elected first, then if required the candidate with the second highest number of votes is elected, then the third placed candidate. 
• In the event of a tie, then a candidate is selected by the drawing of lots (i.e., a method of selection by chance such as tossing a coin or picking a name out of a hat).

The relevant local returning officer has overall responsibility for counting the votes at their respective election. The relevant local authority will be able to provide projected count times.

To support electoral administrators with the count process, we have published guidance on the count. 

There are four stages to the count process. 

1. The postal ballot boxes and ballot boxes from the polling stations arrive at the count venue. 
2. Staff carry out a verification process and ensure that the number of postal ballot papers and ballot papers matches the numbers recorded by the relevant returning officer, and by the presiding officer at the polling station respectively. 
3. The votes are counted and the results are declared by the returning officer. 
4. The returning officer will announce the name of the candidate(s) with the most votes as duly elected. 

Someone can challenge the result of an election by issuing an election petition. This is a legal action and will be adjudicated by a judge in court. 

A petition can be presented by:

• a person claiming to have been a candidate at the election, or
• four people who voted as electors at the election or had a right to vote at the election, except for electors registered anonymously 

A petition at a local government election must normally be presented within 21 calendar days after the day on which the election was held. Further time may be allowed in certain circumstances. 

The primary responsibility lies with the local returning officer and the electoral registration officer for each area. They work closely with their local police force.

Guidance on policing elections has been published to support police officers as they put in place plans to prevent and detect electoral fraud in England and Wales. This guidance, which builds on work previously carried out by the Electoral Commission and the National Police Chiefs Council, now forms part of the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice for police forces in England and Wales.

The Representation of the People Act 1983 specifies a number of criminal offences relating to electoral fraud. The relevant police force for the area in which the election is taking place would investigate any allegations that an offence may have taken place.

Every police force has designated a single point of contact officer (known as a SPOC) to lead on election-related crime, who will give advice to local police officers. People can also choose to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Anyone, including candidates, politicians and members of the public, who has evidence of electoral fraud taking place should report it to the police immediately, using the 101 non-emergency number, unless there is a crime in progress.

• Personation – It is an offence to vote as someone else (whether that person is living, dead or fictitious), either by post or at a polling station, in person or as a proxy. 
• Undue influence / intimidation – Undue influence is when someone uses, or threatens to use, force or violence to make someone vote a certain way or not vote at all.  This includes the offences of both direct and indirect undue influence, and those taking place both before and after an election. 
• Bribery – A person is guilty of bribery if they directly or indirectly offer any reward (financial or otherwise) in order to induce any voter to vote or refrain from voting.  
• Treating – A person is guilty of treating if either before, during, or after an election they offer food, drink or entertainment to corruptly influence any voter. Treating requires a corrupt intent - it does not apply to ordinary hospitality.
• False statements – It is an offence to make or publish a false statement of fact about the personal character or conduct of a candidate in order to affect the return of a candidate at an election. False statements that are not about a candidate’s personal character or conduct are not illegal under electoral law, but could be considered as libel or slander. It is an offence to knowingly provide a false statement on a nomination paper.
• Multiple voting and proxy voting offences – There are various offences regarding multiple voting and proxy voting, including voting (whether in person, by post or by proxy) when you are not allowed to and voting more than once in the same election.
• False information in connection with registration and absent voting – It is an offence to supply false registration information to an electoral registration officer. It is also an offence to supply false information for a postal or proxy vote.
• Handling of postal voting documents by political campaigners - It is an offence for political campaigners to handle completed ballot papers or postal ballot packs for voters who are not their close family or someone they care for.

The returning officer (RO) is personally responsible for the conduct of the local government election, including the nomination process, counting the votes and declaring the result.

Electoral registration officers (or EROs) are responsible for the preparation and maintenance of the electoral registers and list of absent voters within their area. They must ensure that the electoral registers are as accurate and complete as possible.

Presiding officers are appointed by local ROs to run polling stations. Duties include organising the layout of the polling station, supervising poll clerks, issuing ballot papers, assisting voters, accounting for all ballot papers and ensuring that ballot boxes are transported securely to the count venue.

The Electoral Commission is the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. We work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and ensure its integrity. Our role in these elections is to:  

• produce guidance for ROs and EROs
• set, monitor and report on performance standards for ROs and EROs  
• produce guidance for candidates standing for election and their agents  
• produce guidance for parties that are campaigning at the election  
• produce guidance for non-party campaigners that are campaigning at the election  
• register political parties and non-party campaigners 
• raise public awareness of the elections and how to take part in them 
• report on the conduct of the elections   
• publish details of where political parties get their money from and how they spend it