Arrangements are now in place for voters to go to the polls in every corner of Nuneaton and Bedworth this year.
The Borough Council has published details of all polling stations for the 2024 local elections, which will take place on Thursday, 2 May.
In Nuneaton and Bedworth this year, there are two new electoral wards, following the changes identified in a recent Boundary Commission review.
The new wards are Milby and Eastboro in Nuneaton. A number of existing wards have also changed names.
The result of this review means that it will be an ‘all-out election’ in which 38 councillors need to be elected in total, with every seat in every ward up for grabs. Usually only half the available seats are contested.
Voters will be able to indicate up to two candidates on their ballot papers, with those gaining the most votes in each ward serving for a full four-year term, and the second placed taking part in another election due in May 2026.
As well as the Borough Council elections this, voters will be able to vote for one candidate in elections for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Warwickshire.
For the first time in the Borough, in line with the rest of England, voters will need to provide a Government approved photographic identification document such as a passport or driving licence to prove their identity in order to vote.
They will be able to apply for a voter authority certificate if they do not feel they have any appropriate photographic identification. Information will also be available in this year’s council tax bills.
And in another change with tradition, the count for the local elections will take place the day after the elections on Friday, 3 May, with results published during that day.
This is to enable staff working on the election day to take part in the count the following day.
Votes cast in the Borough for the PCC election will be counted at Nuneaton Town Hall on Saturday, 4 May.
Key dates to look out for in the run up to the elections include:
- deadline for applications to register to vote: Tuesday, 16 April
- closing date for new or amended postal vote applications: Wednesday, 17 April
- closing date for new or amended proxy vote applications: Wednesday, 17 April
- deadline for voter authority certificates: Wednesday, 24 April
- poll cards dispatched to each elector: from Friday, 15 March
- candidates published in Borough Council website: Friday, 5 April
- polling day: Thursday, 2 May
- results published in Borough Council website: Friday, 3 May
Details of Nuneaton and Bedworth’s election, including details of polling stations, candidates and ward boundaries, will be available soon.
Returning Officer Brent Davis, Chief Executive of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, will be in charge of polling arrangements for the last time as he retires later this year, he said:
“We are working hard as ever to ensure that our Borough’s elections run smoothly to enable everyone who wishes to take part can do so.
“Electoral preparation is slightly different each time, and we will aim to be well prepared for anything that this year’s elections might throw at us.
“In particular, I would urge everyone to ensure they have suitable photographic identification and ensure they have this with them on election day when they go to their polling station.”