Changes in legislation about voting
The following changes to voting have been introduced for any election in 2024 and onwards:
- Absent voting, postal and proxy voting
- European Union (EU) citizens' voting and candidacy rights
- Overseas electors
Absent voting, postal and proxy voting
The absent voting, postal and proxy voting changes are as follows:
- Political parties and campaigners are banned from handling postal votes.
- The number of postal votes which a person can hand in at a polling station is limited to 6.
- Postal voters will need to make a fresh application every 3 years, instead of the 5-yearly signature refresh.
- Electors are only allowed to act as proxy for up to 4 people, of which no more than 2 can be ‘domestic electors’ (that is not overseas voters).
- Applications require identity verification – both online and paper applications include a requirement for the applicant's identity to be verified.
- Electors are able to apply online for an absent vote.
EU citizens – voting and candidacy rights
EU citizens are no longer automatically entitled to register, vote, and stand for election.
The following 2 groups of EU citizens will retain their rights:
- 'Qualifying EU citizens' from countries with reciprocal agreements, and who have leave, or do not require it, to remain in the UK – currently Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 'EU citizens with retained rights' who were resident in the UK before 1 January 2021 – that is before the UK left the EU.
This applies to all local elections and referendums in England and to the Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
Overseas electors
The overseas elector changes are as follows:
- The arbitrary 15-year limit on British citizens living abroad is removed.
- Overseas electors are able to register at an address where they were previously registered, or even never registered, where they were last resident.
- The registration period is extended from 1 year to 3 years.