Wiltshire Council carries out review of polling districts, polling places and polling stations

Wiltshire Council is carrying out its legal obligation of reviewing the polling districts, polling places and polling stations in the county, and people are encouraged to have their say.

Wiltshire Council is responsible for dividing its area into polling districts for the purpose of UK Parliamentary elections. The review will help ensure all of Wiltshire's polling districts, places and stations are, as far as possible, suitable, and accessible to all voters.

The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 introduced a change to the timing of compulsory reviews of UK Parliamentary polling districts and polling places. The last compulsory review took place in 2019.

A consultation is now underway to get people's views on the current polling facilities and electoral arrangements in the county and these will be considered before final recommendations are put forward to the Electoral Review Committee. The consultation can be found at Wiltshire Electoral Boundaries and will run until 31 October.

(Acting) Returning Officer for Wiltshire, Terence Herbert said: "This review could ultimately see some changes being made to the local polling stations that are used in elections and where people vote, so we really welcome people's thoughts. All representations submitted will be considered before our final recommendations.

"Thanks to people in advance for their support with this important work."

More information can be found at Wiltshire Electoral Boundaries.

Definitions

Polling districts

The council is responsible for dividing its area into polling districts for the purpose of UK Parliamentary elections.  The arrangements made for the UK Parliamentary elections are also used at all other elections and referendums.  Each parish should have at least one polling district. When designating polling districts. When designating polling districts, the council seeks to ensure that all the electors have such reasonable facilities for voting as far as practicable. 

Polling places

A polling place is the building, area or polling district in which polling stations will be selected by the (Acting) Returning Officer.

Polling stations

The polling station is the physical place in which polling takes place.  The (Acting) Returning Officer decides on the location of the polling stations.