Manchester electors are being reminded to have their say in two important sets of elections which take place on Thursday, May 2. |
Along with voters in the other nine areas of the city-region, they will have the chance to choose who should be elected mayor of Greater Manchester while local elections to Manchester City Council will decide who represents their local area.
In total, 33 of the council’s 96 seats are up for election – one in each of the city’s wards plus an additional vacancy in Didsbury East, where a councillor whose term has not yet expired, is standing down. You must be on the electoral register to vote. If you are not already registered, you can apply at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote The deadline for this is Tuesday, April 16. You must also show photo ID when you arrive at the polling station. A full list of acceptable photo ID can be found at www.electoralcommission.org. Anyone wanting to vote by post can now apply online for a postal vote by visiting www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote as long as they are already on the electoral register. Paper application forms are still available and further details of how to apply can be found at www.manchester.gov.uk/ Postal voters do not need photo ID. The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on Wednesday, April 17. Joanne Roney CBE, returning officer for Manchester, said: “With two sets of elections this year, we really don’t want anyone who wishes to have their democratic say to miss out because they don’t have the right photo ID, or have left it too late to register. “There are simple steps electors can take now, if they need to, to make sure they can vote in the Greater Manchester Mayoral and Manchester City Council elections. I’d encourage them to do so.” Counting for the Manchester City Council elections will take place on Friday, May 3 and for the Greater Manchester Mayoral elections on Saturday, May 4. |