Mapped: Shopping centre polling stations and weekend voting to be trialled – here’s where

The government has announced that some voters in England will be able to vote in shopping malls and on weekends for the upcoming May local elections.

In a trial designed to make voting easier and more convenient, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said voters in four regions will be able to vote in busy areas and ahead of polling day.

The changes, if fully implemented, would represent a major departure from standard procedures. Under current rules, voters are assigned a single polling place between 7am and 10pm in most cases, and can only visit it on polling day.

On May 7, people in Cambridge, Tunbridge Wells and North Hertfordshire will instead be able to cast their votes in person at a ‘polling centre’ for a few days before the election, including at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Milton Keynes will be the only place where voters can vote at one of these centers on election day.

Democracy Minister Samantha Dixon said: “The way we vote in person has not adapted to people’s busy lives, with voters often given no choice but to vote at strictly designated polling stations within limited hours.

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“Our lawsuits will make voting days more convenient and bring our democracy into the 21st century by testing the first real changes in more than 100 years.”

Last month ministers confirmed that voters in England will be able to cast their ballots in supermarkets and train stations in upcoming local elections, in another example of the government’s efforts to make voting more accessible.

The move echoes models used in the Scandinavian countries Sweden and Norway, where citizens have historically been able to vote in advance at multiple locations, including supermarkets, libraries and even IKEA.

A similar scheme was piloted in the UK between 2000 and 2007 but had little impact on voter turnout, according to an Electoral Commission report from the time. Its evaluation found that the program increased “the accessibility and convenience of the election process” but did not ensure the actual start of voting in advance. [remained] Low”.

Shopping center centre:mk has been designated as the central polling station for Milton Keynes on election day. Early voting centers in Cambridge are named Guildhall, Clay Farm Center and Meadows Community Centre, while locations in Tunbridge Wells and North Hertfordshire will also be confirmed.

Peter Stanyon, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, said: “These pilots are a great start to exploring different ways to give voters more choice about when and where to cast their vote.

“Weekend and early voting, as well as polling stations in places such as shopping centres, are used to good effect in many democracies and we hope it will be successful here too. Well done to the election teams who have stepped up to take these pilots forward, we look forward to learning from you.”

MHCLG said the pilots would be fully assessed following the May election and evidence would be published later in the year. If deemed successful, the changes could be rolled out across the country for future elections.

The hearing was first announced alongside the introduction of the government’s Representation of the People Bill, which is currently in the early stages of Parliament.

These comprehensive measures include legislation extending the right to vote in all elections in the UK to young people aged 16 and 17. The government announced that it aims to implement the change before the next general elections to be held in 2029 at the latest.