Wigan residents urged to register to vote

On Thursday May 6 borough residents will have their say on who represents them in the Greater Manchester mayoral and council local polls.

In order to vote and have their say on who makes important decisions affecting them, residents must be on the electoral register.

With the deadline to register to vote in under two weeks, residents not already registered at their current address are urged to make sure they are registered in time.

The local election counts will take place overnight on Thursday 6 or on Friday 7 May, whilst the count for the Greater Manchester Mayoral election is set for Saturday 8 May.

The deadline to register is midnight on Monday April 19. It takes just five minutes to apply online at gov.uk/register-to-vote.

There are different ways to vote in the elections: at your local polling station, by post or by proxy (appointing someone to vote on your behalf). The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm on April 20, and for a proxy vote the deadline is 5pm on April 27.

Significant efforts have been made to ensure that all polling stations are Covid-safe so voters should not be concerned about using them. Voters and staff will be required to wear a face covering (unless they are exempt), observe social distancing and use hand sanitiser which will be made available. Voters can bring their own pen or pencil should they wish to do so.

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