General Election information for voters

About the election

A UK Parliamentary General Election is taking place on 4 July 2024. It is an opportunity for people in every part of the UK to choose their Member of Parliament (MP). This person will represent a local area (constituency) in the House of Commons for up to 5 years.

There is usually a choice of several candidates in each constituency. Some will be the local candidates for national political parties but other candidates will be independent. The candidate that receives most votes at the election becomes the MP for that constituency.

There are 5 parliamentary constituencies covering the Dorset Council area. Each constituency is represented by one Member of Parliament.

The political party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons at a UK Parliamentary General Election usually forms the new government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. However, if no political party wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons, this is known as a 'hung parliament'. The largest party can either form a minority government or enter into a coalition government of 2 or more parties.

Who you can vote for

View candidates standing for the 5 Parliamentary constituencies in the Dorset Council area (Statements of Persons Nominated). 

You can only vote to elect your local Member of Parliament (MP) in a UK Parliamentary General Election. You cannot vote for a new Prime Minister. For example, if you lived in the constituency represented by the current Prime Minister, or the constituency represented by the current leader of another political party, you would still only be voting for them as your local MP in the next parliament.  

It is the candidates' responsibility to provide voters with information about themselves but you may be able to find information by using the Democracy Club's Who can I vote for? service or on local news websites. You can also try searching for the candidates' official websites online.

How to vote

Your details must be included on the electoral register if you want to vote in elections, polls and referendums.

If you are already registered to vote at your current address, you do not need to register again. 

To check if you are registered to vote, contact us.

Your poll card

If you are registered to vote, you will be sent a poll card a few weeks before the election which will tell you when the election is due to take place and how you can vote. 

If you already have a postal vote in place, you will be sent a postal poll card a few weeks before the election which will tell you when the election is due to take place and give details of your postal voting arrangements. 

If you already have a proxy vote in place, you will be sent a proxy poll card a few weeks before the election which will tell you when the election is due to take place and give details of your proxy voting arrangements.  Your nominated proxy voter will also be sent a proxy poll card, telling them how to vote on your behalf.  

Voting at a polling station

You do not need to take your poll card with you to the polling station to vote, unless you are a registered anonymous voter, but you must bring photo ID. 

Find out more about what photo ID you can bring and how to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate if you don't have any of the accepted forms of ID. 

Registered anonymous voters must also bring an Anonymous Elector's Document to the polling station. 

Find out more about registering to vote anonymously and the Anonymous Elector's Document. 

If you are registered as an anonymous voter and want to vote at your local polling station but do not have an Anonymous Elector's Document or haven't applied for one, contact us.

Your poll card will give the address of your polling station but for a map or directions you can use the Democracy Club's Where do I vote? service.

Read more about voting at a polling station.

Voting by post or proxy

If you are unable to get to your polling station on polling day, you can apply to vote by post or proxy instead.  Please see the table below for the deadlines for applying to vote by post or proxy for this election.  

• Apply to vote by post
• Apply to vote by proxy

Contact us if you need a paper application form sent to you.

If you vote by proxy, your nominated proxy will need to go to your local polling station and take their own photo ID.  If they do not have an acceptable form of photo ID, they can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate.  If your proxy cannot go to your polling station, they can apply to vote by post for you (a "postal proxy") - please contact us for an application form.  

If you are not applying online to vote by post or proxy, send your completed application form to Electoral Services by the relevant deadline below. You can email us a scan or photo of your completed form.

Voters with a disability

Read about support available for voters with a disability

Dates for this election

Polling day is Thursday 4 July 2024 (polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm)