Get ready for the PCC election – make sure you’re registered to vote

Today (Wednesday 30 March) Dr Jo Farrar, the Avon and Somerset Police Area Returning Officer, has published the Notice of Election to inform residents that on Thursday 5 May 2016, voters across the Avon and Somerset Police area will go to the polls to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner.

You can vote at the election if you are registered to vote, are 18 or over on 5 May 2016 and are a British citizen, a European Union citizen or a qualifying Commonwealth citizen.

Poll cards with details of the PCC election and the location of polling stations will be posted to all registered electors during April.

If you are not yet registered at your current address, you can do it online atwww.avonpccelection2016.org.uk/register-to-vote. Those who would prefer to register using a paper form, can download a registration form from the online registration site or alternatively can request one by calling the Electoral Services Helpline on 01225 477333. 

The deadline to register to vote in time for the PCC election is midnight on Monday 18 April 2016.

If you can’t go to the polling station on Thursday 5 May, then if you have registered by 18 April you can apply to vote by post or you can appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf. The deadline for postal vote applications is on 5pm on Tuesday 19 April 2016, while the deadline for proxy vote applications is 5pm on Tuesday 26 April 2016.

Dr Jo Farrar, Electoral Registration Officer for Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “Time is running out to make sure you can take part in these elections, so I’d encourage everyone in Bath and North East Somerset to register now if you have not done so already. Our message is simple: you can’t vote, if you are not registered by the 18^th April deadline.  It’s easy and only takes a few minutes online – just head towww.avonpccelection2016.org.uk/register-to-vote.”

Registering now for the elections in May will also mean voters are registered in good time before the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union on Thursday 23 June2016.

Could you be a Police and Crime Commissioner?

Are you interested in standing as a PCC candidate? Information and advice, including the forms you need to complete and a timetable of events, can be found on the PCC 2016 election website www.avonpccelection2016.org.uk/standing-as-a-candidate. 

Nomination papers must be delivered to the office of the Police Area Returning Officer at the Guildhall, High Street, Bath, BA1 5AW, between 10am and 4pm on any working day from Thursday 31 March and no later than 4pm on Thursday 7 April 2016.