Don't forget to register to vote in May’s local elections

Don't forget, all Greater Manchester residents wanting to vote in the upcoming local and mayoral elections only have have until tonight (Monday) to register.

The city-region will be heading to the polls on Thursday, May 6 to cast their ballots for council seats, the Salford city mayor and the mayor of Greater Manchester.

People wanting to take part will need to be on the electoral register, and those who are not already registered at their current address have until midnight tonight (Monday, April 19) to apply.

Seats will be up for election on each of the borough’s councils, while residents in Salford will elect a city mayor who has overall responsibility for delivery of all council services.

The role of Greater Manchester mayor, which oversees transport, housing and planning, as well as the police and fire service, will also be up for election.

As always there will be different ways for people to vote in this year’s election, which were due to take place in 2020 but were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Polling stations will still be open but people wanting to vote in person will be asked to cover their faces unless exempt, observe social distancing and use onsite hand sanitiser.

Postal votes and proxy votes are the alternative and the deadlines to apply are 5pm tomorrow (Tuesday, April 20) and 5pm on April 27 respectively.

Eamonn Boylan, the returning officer for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, has urged people to register to vote before tonight's deadline.

He said: “These elections across Greater Manchester are an opportunity for residents to have their say and decide who makes important decisions that affect them and the places where they live.

“Whether they choose to vote in person, by post, or by proxy, they can be confident that everything is being done to make these elections as safe as possible.”

To register to vote, go to gov.uk/register-to-vote.

For more information on registering to vote and applying for a postal or proxy vote, go to: gmelects.org.uk.

For updates on the Greater Manchester mayoral election, follow @GMElects on Twitter or go to the GMElects Facebook page.

Each council in Greater Manchester will be providing updates on the local counts online.

For a full list of council websites, click here

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