The next London Mayoral and Assembly elections will be held this year on 2nd May, 100 days away. The Elections Act 2022 has brought about the first significant changes to how we elect London’s leaders since 2000 and I want to draw these to your attention now.
London’s elections are unique, in that you not only vote for a Mayor, but you also vote for 25 Assembly Members, whose role is to hold the Mayor of London to account, acting as a check and balance. You will have three votes on 2nd May – one for the Mayor; one for your Constituency Assembly Member (there are 14 London Constituencies); and one for your London-wide Assembly Member (which is a vote for the party of your choice).
As the Greater London Returning Officer, I am responsible for administering the Mayor of London and London Assembly elections. In this role I act, and take decisions, independently of the Greater London Authority and am responsible to the courts.
This year, London’s elections will be different in two ways:
1.Voters will need to take photo identification to the polling station and will not be able to vote without it.
2.Voters will have only one vote for the Mayor of London, when in the past they have had two – one for their first preference and one for their second.
The very last day to register to vote in the Mayor of London and London Assembly elections is 16 April 2024
Let’s take these changes separately.
New legislation in the Elections Act 2022 introduced the requirement on all voters to bring photographic identification to the polling station. Voters can use passports, full and provisional driving licences, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) cards, Blue badges, and some (but not all) concessionary travel cards in order to vote. The full list of valid identification is available on the Electoral Commission’s website.
The identification document used in a polling station must be the original, but it doesn’t matter if it is expired, as long as the photograph is a good likeness. Voters can request that their identification is inspected in private.
People without an acceptable form of voter ID, as laid out by the Electoral Commission, can apply online or by post via their local Electoral Registration Office for a free Voter Authority Certificate (VAC). The VAC will display the name and a passport style photo of a voter.
The second change in May 2024 is to the way you vote for the Mayor of London.
The Elections Act 2022 replaced the supplementary vote system which allowed first and second preference votes with the so-called ‘first past the post’ system which allows just one vote. In previous elections, you made a first and second choice for Mayor, but in May you will get only one vote.
The way you vote for your Assembly Members is unchanged.
The key dates this year are:
•Polling day is Thursday, 2nd May
•Votes for the Mayor and all Assembly Members will be counted on Saturday, 4th May
•We aim to have all the results announced during the evening of Saturday, 4th May
However, in the event a General Election is also held on 2nd May, the results of the London Elections will be delayed by 24 hours, as counting of the national vote will take precedence.
Since the first elections in 2000, London has had three Mayors – Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson, and Sadiq Khan. There are over six million voters in the capital and whichever way you vote, exercising your democratic right is as important as it has always been. Further information is available on the London Elects website and the Electoral Commission website.
Your local Electoral Registration Office will have lots of information too.
I hope this quick summary of the changes to the way you vote has been useful.
Please start thinking about the photographic identification you will use to vote at the polling station on 2nd May and if you don’t hold the correct documents, do get your application for a free Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) in online, by post or via your local Electoral Registration Office as soon as possible.
And, of course, you cannot vote unless you are registered to do so. You can do this online via the gov.uk website or print off the form and post it. Your Electoral Registration Office will also help. The very last day to register to vote in the Mayor of London and London Assembly elections is 16 April 2024.
