Voting is currently underway to elect the next members of the House of Commons, the UK legislative body that will decide the next government and the next Prime Minister.
Polling stations opened at 7am this morning (2am EST) and close at 10pm EST on Thursday (17pm EST). The election was called by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on 22 May. The sudden announcement and short campaigning defied expectations, and it was widely believed that Sunak would delay the election date as long as possible, potentially extending it until January 2025.
The polling company Ipsos has been placing interviewers at polling stations across the country and asking people to voluntarily reveal their vote as they leave the polling station. This data allows pollsters to get a relatively clear picture of the national voting results, which they can publish shortly after the polls close.
It has been historically accurate and has been published in every general election since 1997. But while it gives an indication of national trends, district-by-district responses and which parties won where will not be clear until the tallies are released in the early hours of Friday.
All British and Irish people aged 18 and over who are registered in the UK or living overseas are eligible to vote, but in many cases immigrants can also vote, even if they are not citizens, if they are from the former Commonwealth of Nations of the British Empire.
Since last year, it has been required by law that voters must show legal identification to vote in person. For many, this may be the first election where they are required to show ID to reduce the risk of voter fraud. The Election Commission, the government body that regulates elections, says 22 types of ID are accepted, including passports, driver’s licenses, retired bus passes and military ID cards. For those who don’t have any of these, there are also free voter ID cards available, but they must be applied for in advance.
KIRBY SIGSTON, ENGLAND – JULY 4: British Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murthy cast their votes during the general election at Kirby Sigston village hall in Kirby Sigston, England on July 4, 2024. Voters in 650 constituencies across the UK elect their Members of Parliament through a single-seat constituency system. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the election on May 22, 2024. The last general election held in July was in 1945 after World War II, when Clement Attlee’s Labour Party won a landslide victory. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
Due to the nature of the secret ballot, the new voter ID system also allows citizens to vote anonymously. Privacy-conscious citizens have the right to apply for an anonymous electoral document, which contains only the voter’s photo and an anonymized string of numbers and letters indicating that they are eligible to receive a ballot from their polling station.
UK law places severe restrictions on coverage of elections while polling stations are open. Broadcasters cannot discuss likely outcomes or publish opinion polls. The regulator stipulates that “discussion and analysis of election and referendum issues must cease when polls open…Broadcasters must not publish the results of any opinion polls on polling day.” Penalties for breaching these rules could include prison time for news editors.
When these rules were last changed, consideration was given to whether it would be appropriate to ban the publication of opinion polls not only on election day, but also in the days leading up to the vote. This, it was said, would give voters more time to make up their own minds, rather than constantly being told how others will vote. The proposal was ultimately dropped.
Candidates and party leaders can address their supporters today, and the country will likely be abuzz with political activists “calling for votes,” but these events cannot be broadcast.
But candidates are not disappearing: Party leaders traditionally cast their ballots at their local polling stations without wearing their party colours, a routine that is widely broadcast to the public.
