Where and how you can vote

NOT sure where you will be able to go to cast your vote in the local elections for Derby City Council on May 6?

By now, if you are registered to vote, a polling card will have come through your door to tell you where you should vote.

You cannot vote at just any polling station, it has to be the one marked on the card. Polling hours are 7am to 10pm.

And if you have concerns about the safety of voting in person – don’t forget you can apply for a postal vote up until April 20.

All polling stations have been risk-assessed and rules are in place to protect you during the coronavirus pandemic.

Everyone going to vote must wear a mask unless exempt, ideally take your own pen or pencil, social distancing will be enforced while queuing and hand sanitiser will be available.

Perspex screens will be in place to protect officials and the public, and staff will be continually wiping down surfaces to ensure safety.

Up to 12 polling stations are not in use this time because of previous changes and also concerns that it would be difficult to socially distance electoral officers and voters. Instead other venues nearby have been chosen in their place.

Normally, some schools would be used as polling stations and have closed for the day, but after so much time has been lost to learning, it has been decided to avoid using schools if possible.

But inevitably some schools, or areas within schools, are still on the list for use as polling stations after local alternative venues could not be found.

These include Bemrose School Library, St Chad’s C of E Nursery

and Infant School, Cherry Tree Hill Primary School and Derwent Community Primary School.

The other polling stations can be found in a variety of venues including pubs, community and children’s centres, churches and church halls and even a marquee in Stoney Lane, Spondon and a mobile unit in Washington Avenue, Chaddesden.

Polling stations are staffed by

presiding officers and polling clerks to make sure that proceedings run smoothly and legally.

Once you have been given a ballot paper at the polling station, take your ballot paper into a polling booth so that no one can see how you vote and then place it in the ballot box afterwards, before immediately leaving the polling station as directed by staff and signs.