General Election 2024 –
what you need to know

So, it’s your first General Election – a big day, when you can exercise your democratic right to choose the party who will lead the country. We’ve put this handy guide together to help you make sure you can vote on July 4.

28 May 2024

Why it’s important
As a British citizen you have the chance to help shape the way the country runs. You might not think much about politics, or even think it really affects you. But in truth, it does – from everything to how easy it is to access health services, all the way down to the potholes in the road and the price of your weekly food shopping trip. It can even have an impact on your studies, and it’s likely you might have covered political topics in your learning – climate change, fast fashion, mental health. All of these things can be affected by the political choices at the top.

So, how does it work?
Where you are living at the time of the election is crucial, because the vote you cast will count towards the Member of Parliament who represents the area you live in (a constituency). At the time of the General Election on 4 July, you might be back at home, but if you are still living in Farnham, then your constituency is Farnham and Bordon. If you are still based at Epsom, then your constituency is Epsom & Ewell, and if you are still in Canterbury, then your constituency is Canterbury. You can check your home town constituency on the UK parliament website.

Each constituency has one Member of Parliament, and those constituencies form the seats of Parliament. There are a total of 650 seats, and a party must have more than 326 seats (half) to win. If no party gets to that amount, there would be a hung parliament, and two parties might join forces to create a majority.

Register to vote
It is very important that, if you want to vote in the General Election, you have registered before the deadline of 11:59pm on 18 June.

Registering to vote is easy, takes around five minutes, and can be done via the UK government website.

You can register if you are a British or Irish citizen, if you have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man - or you do not need permission, and you’re a:

• Commonwealth citizen 
• citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain 
• citizen of another EU country, if you have had permission to enter or stay - or not needed permission - since 31 December 2020, and this has continued without a break.

You normally only need to register once, but you would need to register again if you change your name, your nationality or crucially - your address. After you’ve registered, your name and address will appear on the electoral register.

There’s a different process to register anonymously, for example if you’re concerned about your safety or the safety of someone in your household.

Voter ID
Unlike previous General Elections, this will be the first one to have Voter ID as an integral part of the voting process.

You won’t be able to vote unless you have one of the following forms of identification:

• a UK or Northern Ireland photocard driving licence (full or provisional)
• a driving licence issued by an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands
• a UK passport
• a passport issued by an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or a Commonwealth country
• a PASS card (National Proof of Age Standards Scheme)
• a Blue Badge
• a biometric residence permit (BRP)
• a Defence Identity Card (MOD form 90)
• a national identity card issued by the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
• a Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card
• a Voter Authority Certificate
• an Anonymous Elector’s Document

On the day
Ahead of the General Election you’ll receive your voting card in the post, which will tell you where you can cast your vote. Schools, leisure centres and other public buildings become polling stations, and are usually open from 7:00am all the way through to 10:00pm.

When you go into your designated polling station, you will be asked to give your name and address, and show your voter ID, to the staff there. Once they’ve registered your attendance, you’ll be given a ballot paper containing a list of the candidates you can vote for. Pop an “X” next to the person who you want to be your Member of Parliament and pop it in the ballot box – and you’re done!

If you have a disability, your local Electoral Registration Office can tell you about access provisions.

You can also vote by post, but you must apply for a postal vote in advance – you can find out the details and the deadlines via the Electoral Commission.

Any questions?
There will be lots of online resources in the next six weeks as the momentum for the General Election gathers pace. The UK government website and the Electoral Commission are a good place to start if you have any questions. Also be sure to keep an eye on the UCASU website in the coming weeks for the latest information.