With the snap General Election looming on 8 June, hot on the heels of last Thursday's parish elections, life is hectic for Electoral Services Manager Sally Sprason and her team.
The Electoral Services team are responsible for coordinating every aspect of polling day in Swindon, including responding to hundreds of voting registration applications – many of them duplicates from residents wanting to double check their eligibility. The team also have to set up the 102 voting stations across the borough and recruit some 600 staff to run the stations and handle the count.
Other important tasks for Sally and her colleagues include sorting through some 30,000 postal votes, and sending out voting cards for approximately 150,000 people.
Sally explained: “It’s our job to help Swindon residents play their full part in the democratic process and I would encourage residents to ensure that they are registered to vote by the 22 May deadline, particularly if they have moved house.
“Organising the count is a huge task, but we want to get it right and get a declaration out as quickly as possible. Traditionally Swindon is among the frontrunners for announcing results, so we are always under a national spotlight as an indicator of how the election is going.”
Sally explained that voters don't need their poll card to be able to vote and they don’t need to re-register if they have done so before in Swindon unless you move house.
Anyone over the age of 18 is eligible to vote, although you can still register at 17. If you are living away from home you can register to vote either in your university location or back in Swindon.
Full details of how to register, with key dates and deadlines, are on the Council website at Register to Vote , and you can register to vote at Register to vote online or in person at the Civic Offices in Euclid Street, or you can phone Customer Services on 01793 445500.
Don’t miss key election dates and deadlines:
| Publication of Notice of Poll Thursday 11 May 2017 |
| Receipt of Nominations 4:00 pm Thursday 11 May 2017 |
| Publication of Statements of Persons Nominated 5:00 pm Thursday 11 May 2017 |
| Last Date for Registration Monday 22 May 2017 |
| Receipt of Postal Vote Applications 5:00 pm Tuesday 23 May 2017 |
| Receipt of Proxy Vote Applications 5:00 pm Wednesday 31 May 2017 |
| Day of Poll 7:00 am to 10:00 pm Thursday 8 June 2017 |
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