Everything you need to know to cast your vote in the local elections

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames elections will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026. All 54 seats of the Council will be up for election across the borough’s 18 wards. 

The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 20 April. You can register to vote in less than five minutes. You will need to have your National Insurance number to hand. 

Vote in person

Don’t forget you will now need to provide original voter ID to vote at polling stations on Thursday 7 May. 

All voters will need to take an approved form of photo identification to the polling station to vote. Polls will be open between 7am and 10pm. If you do not have an accepted form of photo ID, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate until 5pm on Tuesday 28 April. 

If you do not wish to show ID at a polling station or are away on polling day, you can apply to vote by post or vote by proxy. 

Vote by post

The deadline to register to vote by post in these elections is Tuesday 21 April at 5pm. You will need your date of birth, a copy of your signature and your National Insurance number. Postal voters will not be affected by voter ID and will be issued with their postal ballot papers as usual. 

Postal vote arrangements must now be renewed every three years. We will contact you to let you know when your postal vote needs to be renewed.

Vote by proxy

The deadline to register to vote by proxy in these elections is Tuesday 28 April at 5pm. Your chosen proxy must be registered to vote themselves and can only act as a proxy for a limited number of people – up to two voters registered in the UK, or four voters in total if two are registered overseas and two domestically.

If you have queries 

If you have any questions, you can speak to one of our advisors via web chat, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.