It’s time for Royal Holloway students to Turn Up!
The next UK General Election will happen on 4 July 2024. This is your chance to make sure you have your say.
In 2019, 15.6 million people didn’t turn up and vote. That is more people than any party secured in votes. The government have purposefully put the election outside of term time making it more difficult for young people to ensure their voice is heard.
We are here to make sure you have all the information you need to TURN UP AND VOTE.
WHERE WILL YOU BE ON 4 JULY
As the election is taking place outside of term time, you will want to make sure you know where you are going to be on 4 July so you can make plans on how to vote. Here’s a checklist that will help you get prepared:
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YOUR ELIGIBILITY
You do not have to be a UK citizen to vote in UK elections. British, Irish, and qualifying Commonwealth citizens residing in the UK can vote. Check if you’re eligible.
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REGISTER TO VOTE BY 18 JUNE
You can be registered to vote at your term-time address and your home address! But you can only vote in one place. Think about where you will be on 4 July, if you’re moving back home for the summer, changing term-time address, or never got around to registering to vote this year, make sure you get registered. It takes 5 minutes and you’ll need your national insurance number. Register to vote.
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APPLY FOR a POSTAL VOTE BY 19 JUNE @ 5pm
If you’re not going to be around to vote in person on 4 July, you can decide to vote by post. To do this you need to apply by 5pm on 19 June. Register to vote.
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APPLY FOR a PROXY VOTE BY 26 JUNE @ 5pm
Simiarly, if you can't vote yourself on 4 July, and you don’t want to vote by post – you can allow someone else to vote in person on your behalf. This is called voting by proxy. You will need to apply for this by 5pm on 26 June.
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MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ID – OR APPLY FOR FREE VOTER ID BY 26 JUNE
This year, you must have ID (e.g. driver's license or passport) when voting at a polling station. Your student ID card does not count. If you don’t have a driver's license or passport, NUS and CitizenCard have teamed up to offer free voter ID which you can apply for online.
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GET OUT AND VOTE
The last step is to actually head out and vote. Find out where your polling station is here.
WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE
It gives you the opportunity to have your say on who leads the country, who will make decisions that impact you and who will represent you.
Our future will be built by students and young people of today, but only if they are heard. Voting gives power, influence and a stake in society.
There’s a lot going on at the moment, and this election will determine how the government approaches issues that will directly impact you as students including:
- Housing
- Equality
- International students’ rights
- Education funding and quality
- Access to education
- Job market
- Mental health services
- Climate crisis
HOW DO I KNOW WHO TO VOTE FOR?
We’ll be reaching out to local candidates as well as releasing a blog series about party stances on various hot topics so keep an eye out over the next few weeks. Check out the election candidates here.
RHUL STUDENT MANIFESTO
Over the past academic year, we’ve been asking you what you want to see from the next government to form the Royal Holloway Student Manifesto. We’ll be asking local candidates for both Runnymede and Weybridge (Egham students) and Windsor (Englefield Green students) constituents to respond so you can feel informed when deciding who to vote for.