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Absent Voting FAQs

Visit the Voting by post or proxy page for details of how to apply.

Your personal details (name, address, date of birth, national insurance number) will be checked against the information you provided on your original voter registration – if these details do not match your application will be rejected.

Your application will also be rejected if:

  • You are not on the electoral register
  • You did not provide your Digital Registration Number (if you last registered to vote online)
  • You did not provide a valid reason for needing a postal/proxy vote
  • You did not provide enough detail in your application (for example if going on holiday during an election period you will be required to provide dates and locations of the holiday)
  • Your application is not fully filled in (e.g. attestation is not completed)
  • You missed the deadline during an election period. The deadline is set in law and late applications are not accepted.

If you went online to register to vote then you will have been issued with a Digital Registration Number (DRN) when your application was approved. The DRN was on the certificate of registration issued to you.

You will need this number to apply to vote by post or proxy.

You can request your DRN here.

There is a periodic review of all permanent absent votes and you will be required to reply indicating that you still require an absent vote.

Contact us to check if you are registered to vote by post or proxy.

Go to the elector's polling station with one of the forms of acceptable identification (in your name, not the elector's name). Tell the staff you are voting as a proxy and they will advise you what to do.

You cannot apply online or by email for a postal or proxy vote in Northern Ireland.

Electoral law requires that a person applying to vote by post must provide an address in the United Kingdom as the address to which his/her ballot paper is to be sent.

Elected representatives are not entitled to the list of postal and proxy voters. Candidates and agents are entitled to this information during election periods. Alternatively, you can make an appointment to inspect the list of permanent absent voters at our office. Contact us to make an appointment.