Dawdon elections to take place

Residents are being reminded that elections will take place for the Dawdon County Division of Durham County Council and Dawdon Ward area of Seaham Town Council on Thursday, 30 November.

Anyone currently on the electoral register and eligible to vote in this election will receive a poll card with details of their allocated polling station. The deadline to register to vote in person for this election is Tuesday 14 November.

Postal or proxy vote

Residents can also request a postal or proxy vote, however the county council is also reminding people of the changes being made to postal and proxy votes from 31 October.

From this date, anyone who is applying to vote by postal or proxy vote will need to provide their national insurance number as part of the application. This information will be used by the Department of Work and Pensions to help verify the application.

Any applications for postal or proxy applications received before 31 October will be processed without the need for a national insurance number.

For these elections, the deadline for postal vote applications is 5pm on Wednesday 15 November, and the deadline for proxy vote applications is 5pm on Wednesday 22 November.

Photo ID

Residents who are registered and wish to vote at these elections are being reminded that they must also show a valid form of photo ID.

This includes passports, driving licences and concessionary travel passes, such as an older person's bus pass. Voters will also be able to use expired ID if they are still recognisable from the photograph.

A full list of acceptable photo ID can be found on the poll card. Voters who do not have an accepted form of photo ID can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate

All applications for a free Voter Authority Certificate for this election must be received by 5pm on Wednesday 22 November.