Are you ready to vote?

With the day of the elections getting very close (it’s just next Thursday, 22nd May), East London residents are being urged to get ready to use their right to vote – and to be sure they complete the ballot papers correctly. There are two elections in most London boroughs: elections to the European Parliament and elections of all councillors in each borough. However, those East London boroughs which have a directly election Mayor (Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets) will be electing their new mayors too.

Tower Hamlets has the most complicated elections of all, because the borough has had an exceptional ward boundary re-organisation. This means that many people will be voting in new wards with new names (even though they personally have not moved home!) and at new polling stations. Tower Hamlets voters are used to having three votes, as all wards have had three councillors for some time. However, the re-organisation has brought in one and two member wards too, so voters will have to be very careful to cast the right number of votes if they do not want their votes to be disqualified.

Here’s some useful tips for voting in Tower Hamlets, released by Tower Hamlets Council. Other boroughs may have slightly different procedures: ring your Town Hall if you have any questions.

The Mayoral Election

For the Mayor of Tower Hamlets election – only the second time voters have been able to elect a Mayor in Tower Hamlets – there are ten candidates. The winner will be elected for a four year term.

The voting process is simple. Each voter will be given a peach-coloured ballot paper listing all the candidates and they will have up to two votes. You can vote once for your first choice candidate by marking a cross beside their name in column 1 and vote once for your second choice candidate by marking a cross beside their name in column 2. You do not have to vote for a second choice candidate, but you must cast a first choice vote for your ballot paper to be counted.

Once all votes have been cast and the poll closes at 10pm, the next stage is the count which takes place on Friday, 23rd May. If a Mayoral candidate receives more than half the first choice votes, they are declared the next executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets. However, if no candidate receives more than half of the first choice votes polled, the top two candidates with the most votes go through to the second stage and all other candidates drop out.

If there is a second stage, the second choice votes on the ballot papers of the candidates who have dropped out of the contest are then counted and any votes cast for the top two candidates are added to their first choice votes. The candidate with the most first and second choice votes is then elected as Mayor of Tower Hamlets.

European Parliamentary Election

For the European Parliamentary election (London Region), each voter will get a white ballot paper and vote only once by putting a cross in the box next to the party of their choice. The election is for eight members of the European Parliament (MEPs) who will represent London for the next five years. The party votes from Tower Hamlets will be counted and the result declared at 10pm on Sunday, 25th May.

Local Council Elections

For the Tower Hamlets Council elections, each voter will get a yellow-coloured ballot paper and will vote for the number of candidates shown at the top of the ballot paper. The number of candidates you can vote for in your ward will depend on how many council seats are up for election in that ward. Following boundary changes, there are now different numbers of councillors (one, two or three) to be elected in different wards. The count and declarations of all new ward councillors will take place on Friday, 23 May.

If you have any questions regarding any aspect of the elections, please call Electoral Services on 020-7364 0872 or you can email: vote@towerhamlets.gov.uk. You can also find information online about the election by visiting: www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/vote.

In order to vote, you need to be registered. All eligible voters should have already received their poll cards.

Your usual polling station may have changed this time because of the ward boundary changes for this election (45 councillors will be elected to represent 20 wards). The address and map of your allocated polling station will be shown on the poll card. You can check where your polling station is located by using the online polling station finder (go to: www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/vote) or call the Electoral Services helpline on 020 7364 0872.

If you didn’t receive a poll card or have lost it, don’t worry – you can still vote if you are registered to do so. Polling stations around the borough will open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, 22 May.

Applications to vote by proxy at this election must reach the Electoral Registration Officer at the Town Hall, 7th Floor, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG by 5pm on Wednesday, 14 May 2014.

If you have applied to vote by post, your postal vote pack will be sent to you shortly. Completed postal votes must be received by the Returning Officer by 10pm on Thursday, 22nd May. If you have already applied for a postal vote, you cannot vote in person at a polling station. However, you may hand in your completed postal pack at any polling station on 22nd May.