Get ready for the general election on Thursday 4 July

A general election will be taking place in the UK on Thursday 4 July. Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm. 

At the general election you have one vote to choose a candidate to represent your constituency in the House of Commons.

There are three constituencies in Brighton & Hove:

  • Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven
  • Brighton Pavilion
  • Hove and Portslade

A by-election will also take place in Brunswick & Adelaide to elect a new ward councillor following the resignation of Jilly Stevens. Only residents living in the Brunswick & Adelaide ward are eligible to vote in this by-election. 

Find out more about the Brunswick & Adelaide by-election.

To vote in the general election and/or by-election, you must be:

  • registered to vote
  • age 18 or over on polling day
  • a British citizen, Irish citizen, or a citizen of a Commonwealth country

Register to vote by 18 June

You must register to vote by midnight on Tuesday 18 June if you wish to vote in the upcoming general election and/or by-election. 

If you’re not already registered, or if you’ve recently moved to a new address, please visit gov.uk/registertovote.

We’ve also created resources about voter registration for specific groups:

Postal and proxy voting

If you don’t want to vote at a polling station or can’t get to a polling station on Thursday 4 July, you can apply for a postal or proxy vote. 

You must apply for a postal vote by 5pm on Wednesday 19 June at the latest, but we recommend applying earlier so your postal vote can be sent to you sooner. 

Find out more about postal voting and how to apply.

You can ask someone you trust to vote on your behalf – this is known as a proxy vote. You should apply for a proxy vote by 5pm on Wednesday 26 June or change existing proxy arrangements by 5pm on Wednesday 19 June. 

Find out more about proxy voting and how to apply.

Voter ID 

Last year, the government brought in new legislation which requires voters to show photo identification when voting at polling stations.

This means you must bring photo ID to vote in the general election and/or by-election. For more information, and to see which forms of photo ID are accepted, please visit our voter ID webpage.

If you don’t have a valid form of photo ID, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) online. The deadline for us to receive your VAC application for use at the general election and/or by-election is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June.  

If you are voting by post, you do not need to provide photo ID.

If you’ve applied for a proxy vote, your proxy will need to show photo ID of themselves when they vote on your behalf at a polling station.

More information 

For more information about the general election, including a list of key dates and deadlines, please visit our General Election 2024 webpage.