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Links to key information
We shall be managing the elections for three constituencies: Carlisle, Penrith and Solway, and Whitehaven and Workington.
You can check which constituency you live in by going to the Electoral Commission's website. You can also check the boundary for each constituency on the Parliament website. There is the map for Carlisle, Penrith and Solway, and Whitehaven and Workington.
Know your boundary
There are parts of the Westmorland and Furness Council area which come under the Penrith and Solway Constituency. There are also some parts of the Cumberland Council area which come under the Barrow and Furness Constituency area. The Barrow and Furness Constituency election is being managed by Westmorland and Furness Council. You can check the boundary for this constituency on the Parliament website.
If you live within the Cumberland Council area, but your home is within the Barrow and Furness Constituency then contact Cumberland Council for any queries about the election including voter registration, postal and proxy voting and Voter ID.
If you live in the Westmorland and Furness Council area, but your house falls within the Penrith and Solway constituency, then you should contact Westmorland and Furness with any enquiries including about registering to vote, postal and proxy votes and Voter ID. More information is on their website.
- The deadline to register to vote in this election is 18 June 2024.
- In this election, the deadline for new applications to vote by post, and amendments or cancellations of existing postal votes or proxy vote arrangements is 5pm on 19 June. The deadline for new applications to vote by proxy is 5pm on 26 June. The deadline for emergency proxy votes is 5pm on the day of the election, 4 July 2024.
- The deadline for applications for a Voter Authority Certificate or an Anonymous Elector’s Document valid for this election is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June 2024.
If you are not on the electoral register already, you will have to register to vote. It is particularly important you make sure you are registered if you have:
- recently moved house within the area, or moved to the Cumberland area
- recently turned 18
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If you have a postal vote:
- please leave plenty of time for posting it back to us in the envelope provided
- we recommend you post your vote rather than hand deliver it to our offices
- please do not use the letter boxes at our offices to post your postal vote, as your vote will not count. Read more to find out why.
What are the changes to postal voting rules?
The rules on postal voting have changed and we now have to keep a record of every postal vote that is handed to a member of staff at one of our offices.
These new rules will apply for these elections.
Anyone returning a postal vote by hand to the Local Returning Officer must complete a postal vote return form. A postal vote returned by hand that is not accompanied by a postal vote return form will be rejected. There are also new limits on the number of postal votes that can be handed in by one person.
Postal voters are encouraged to use the Freepost Royal Mail envelope provided with the postal vote pack, where ever possible.
Electors who wish to hand their postal vote in at the polling stations or designated council offices must complete a postal vote return form for the postal vote to be accepted.
At polling stations: Presiding Officers and Clerks will have the necessary form to be completed at the polling station.
Council Offices: Signage will be in place at each office to tell electors where they need to go to complete the form necessary for them to hand their postal vote in.
Postal votes should not be put through the letter boxes or internal mail boxes in our buildings as these will not have an accompanying postal vote return form and therefore will have to be rejected.
Voters will need to show photo ID to vote at polling stations in both the General and Harraby North ward elections.
If you do not have accepted photo identification, you can apply for a free voter identification document, which is known as a Voter Authority Certificate.
You can use any of the following accepted forms of photo identification when voting at a polling station.
- Passport issued in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country
- Driving licence issued by the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or EEA state
- A Blue Badge
- Older persons bus pass
- Disabled persons bus pass
- Identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card).
There are more accepted forms of ID. Find out more online.
Voter Authority Certificates
You only need to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate if:
- you do not have accepted photo ID
- you no longer look like the photo on your ID
- the name on your photo ID is different to your name on the electoral register.
It is free to apply.
You will need:
- a recent, digital photo of yourself
- your National Insurance number.
You can still apply if you do not have a National Insurance number. You will need to provide other documents to prove your identity, for example a birth certificate, bank statement and utility bill.
Voter ID requirement on the Electoral Commission website gives further details, including different voting options.
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- The deadline to register to vote in this election is midnight on 11 June 2024.
- The deadline for applications, amendments or cancellations of postal votes in this election is 5pm on Wednesday 12 June 2024. The deadline for applications to vote by proxy at this election is 5pm on Wednesday, 19 June 2024. The deadline for applications to vote by emergency proxy at this election is 5pm on Thursday, 27 June 2024..
- The deadline for applications for a Voter Authority Certificate or an Anonymous Elector’s Document valid for this election is 5pm on Wednesday, 19 June 2024.
Postal voters living in the Harraby North ward are also advised that they will receive two postal vote packs – one for the Harraby North ward election, and one for the General Election. These voters are also advised to check the details on the ballot paper to confirm which election they are voting in and to note that the date by which the postal votes must be returned will be different. The easiest way to return a postal vote is to use the pre-paid Royal Mail envelope provided. Separate envelopes should be used for each ballot paper.
Our YouTube account has a number of short videos explaining all aspects of the voting process. These are produced by the Electoral Commission and include those in British Sign Language.
There is also information on Voter ID in a number of languages and different formats on the Electoral Commission website.
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