Overseas voters

Information about registering to vote as a British citizen living overseas can be found on the Electoral Commission’s website.

Voting as an overseas voter

Submitting a postal or proxy vote application alone does not automatically register you to vote. You must register to vote separately at gov.uk/register-to-vote

Unless you plan to be in the UK on the day of an election/referendum to vote in person at your allocated polling station in Wandsworth, you will either need to apply to vote by post or proxy after you have registered to vote. Voting online or in foreign embassies is not possible.

Voting in person

Overseas electors are listed at the back of the electoral register at each polling station. Please inform polling station staff that you are an overseas elector when you apply for your ballot paper.

Voting by post

We do not recommend that overseas voters apply for a postal vote. Whilst we send postal ballots as early as possible, at some elections this may only be approximately 7 to 10 days before polling day. 

In these circumstances, we find voters living overseas are often unable to get their ballot pack back to the UK before the deadline (10pm on polling day).  Votes received after 10pm cannot be accepted. 

Given the inevitable delays involved with sending a postal vote overseas, we would strongly advise that you appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf at your allocated polling station in Wandsworth.

Voting by proxy

We highly recommend that overseas voters appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf.  

Your proxy can be from anywhere in the UK as long as they are also registered and eligible to vote in the election in which you are voting.

By default, your proxy will need to vote at your allocated polling station in Wandsworth (not at their own). 

If it is impractical for your proxy to travel to Wandsworth, for example, because they live outside of the borough, then they may apply to vote by post on your behalf (a postal proxy vote). 

A postal proxy vote application from your proxy cannot be processed unless we also receive a proxy vote application from you.

Contact

Contact Electoral Services if you have any queries.