A guide to the Hackney elections 2010
Election timetable from today:
Monday 19-Wednesday 21 April: Mayoral booklet to be posted to all registered voters
Tuesday 20 April: Deadline for general election candidate nominations, 4.00pm; nominations to be announced at 5.00pm
Tuesday 20 April: deadline for registration to vote in the election, and deadline for postal vote applications
See Hackney Council’s website: it states that “New applications to vote by post, or changes or cancellations to existing postal voting arrangements must reach the Electoral Registration Officer at Room 60, Hackney Town Hall, Mare Street, London, E8 1EA not later than 5.00pm on Tuesday 20 April 2010”.
Wednesday 21 April: The Big Education Debate with parliamentary candidates for Hackney South and Shoreditch takes place at Hackney Community College in Falkirk Street, Shoreditch from 6.00pm.
This is an open event but please note questions must be submitted in advance to questions to jthorp@hackney.ac.uk
Thursday 22 April: the party leaders’ second TV debate, on Sky News, 8.00-9.30pm (theme: foreign affairs)
Thursday 22- Saturday 24 April: postal votes are sent to voters
Monday 26 April: Hackney Citizen online hustings open for parliamentary candidates
Tuesday 27 April: deadline for proxy vote registration
Tuesday 27 April: Friends of the Earth and Hackney Environment Network hustings, Millfields Community School, Clapton, 7.00-8.00pm)
Hackney Council’s website states that “New applications to appoint a person to vote as proxy must reach the Electoral Registration Officer at Room 60, Hackney Town Hall, Mare Street, London, E8 1EA not later than 5.00pm on Tuesday 27 April 2010; Applications to appoint a proxy as a result of a physical incapacity that occurred after 5.00pm on 27 April 2010, and suitably witnessed, can be made at any time before 5.00pm on polling day, Thursday 6 May 2010.
Thursday 29 April: Hackney Citizen online hustings open for mayoral candidates (was previously scheduled for Tuesday 27 April)
Thursday 29 April: The party leaders’ third TV debate, on BBC 1, 8.30-10.00pm (theme: the economy)
Thursday 6 May: election day, polling stations will be open between 7.00am and 10pm. Find out where your polling station is.
Thursday 6 May – Friday 7 May: Counting of parliamentary votes to start at 11.00pm Thursday evening and the results set to be announced between 3.00 and 6.00 Friday morning.
Friday 7 May: Counting of local council and mayoral votes to start at 11.00; results to be announced mid-afternoon.
How to vote
You can register to vote until 20 April provided you are 16 years old or older (though people cannot actually vote until they are 18), a British citizen, a Commonwealth citizen resident in the UK or a European Union citizen.
A polling card will be sent to each registered voter prior to the election.
The polling card contains details of the polling station where the recipient is entitled to vote (the location of all polling stations can also be found on this map).
Note that you do not need to bring your polling card with you to the polling station; in fact, you do not need to bring any identification with you at all (Britain is one of the only countries in the world where this is the case).
You are simply required to provide the polling station staff with your name and address to be given a ballot paper.