Borough of Telford & Wrekin

Voting by Post and Proxy

This page provides details of how to vote by Post and how to appoint a Proxy to vote at elections on your behalf.
Voting by Post
Getting someone to vote on your behalf

In an emergency - getting an absent vote

Voting by Post

Many people find voting by post convenient for them, and anyone can request a postal vote. You can register to vote by post either for all elections or for a specific election or for a specified period of time. About 36,000 out of some 120,000 electors in Telford and Wrekin vote by post.

In your application you will need to provide us with your date of birth and with a specimen of your signature. We hold these two "personal identifiers" on our database, and they are checked when we open the postal votes at an election. The personal identifiers cannot be released by law to anybody else.

At elections, the closing day for applying for a postal vote is eleven working days before polling day, and we aim to issue postal votes eight working days before polling day.

Getting someone to vote on your behalf

You may find, because of your circumstances or because of the deadlines with regard to postal voting, that getting someone to vote on your behalf is most convenient to you. That person will be known as your proxy. You should choose a person you trust, who will be able to go to your polling station and who will vote as you instruct them to.

The closing date for applications to vote by proxy is six working days before polling day.

If you want to vote by proxy just for a forthcoming election, you will need to give a reason for your application.

If you want to establish a proxy vote for a longer term, you will need to have grounds to support your application. These grounds are on the basis of your physical incapacity, your occupation, service or employment, your attendance on a course of study, or that you would need to undertake a journey by sea or air to vote at your polling station. Your application will either need to provide details of these grounds or it will need to be attested by a person qualified to support your case.

In an emergency - getting an absent vote

The closing date for applications to vote by proxy is six working days before polling day. After that date, you can still apply for an emergency proxy vote if an illness or a hospital appointment means that you will not be able to go to your usual polling station. Your application will need to provide details of your incapacity, the date you became incapcitated and it will need to be attested by a medical practitioner.


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Please note - Some documents published before 1st December 2006 may contain incorrect contact numbers.
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For up to date contact numbers please refer to the Guide to Council Services.