Setting up the polling station
The layout of your polling station and the signage that you put up is really important. We must make sure that the polling station is accessible for all voters, including disabled voters, and that it is easy to identify from the street.
The polling station should be open and ready to greet voters for 7am. Your inspecting officer will visit you between 7am and 9am to check how your polling station is set up and help you with any changes.
The large polling station equipment should already be there when you arrive. If it isn't, you should notify us as quickly as possible.
If, at the start of the day, you can't get into the polling station or any members of staff haven't arrived, you should call us as soon as possible.
Before polling day, the presiding officer will need to make contact with the venue managers to arrange for access to the polling station and contact their poll clerks to let them know when they should arrive.
We recommend meeting at 6am to ensure that you have enough time to set up.
Contacting the venue
We will share the contact details and some key information about the venue with presiding officers via your MEA accounts so that you can prepare for the day.
When contacting the venue, you should consider whether you would like to arrange a site visit before election day to plan your layout and discuss other matters.
No venue is the same, in some cases there is a keybox that is used for access, some give you a key ahead of the day and some like to meet you there. We encourage you to do whatever you and the venue are comfortable with.
Contacting your poll clerks
You should contact your poll clerks ahead of polling day to introduce yourself, we will also share their contact details with you via your MEA account.
Some staff may not have ever worked at an election before so you should ensure that you talk through your expectations for the day and that everyone is happy.
You may want to make arrangements for who will bring what on the day e.g. I'll bring the teabags, you bring the milk.
When setting up the polling station you should ensure that you are considering the size of the room and the route voters will take.
The presiding officer will be provided with a checklist to asses the accessibility an suitability of your polling station layout before you open to voters.
Here are some examples of a good polling station layout:
Some of the key things that you will want to consider include:
- Are the polling booths set up to maintain privacy?
- Is there a separate disabled entrance?
- Is the ballot box next to the presiding officer?
- Is there a space for private ID checks?
- If you are in a double polling station, are the ballot boxes are clearly separated so that voters don't put their ballot papers in the wrong box?
The presiding officer should make sure that the ballot box is sealed before 7am with the rivets provided in the sundries bag.
You do not have to seal every section of the ballot box, as long as you are certain that it cannot be opened.
The slot for inputting the ballot papers should not be sealed until the end of the day.
We must make sure that our polling stations are accessible for everyone, there are a few measures that have been taken at all polling stations to ensure this:
- At least one polling booth should be set up at a low level
- The route through the polling station should be clear and level. If we have been informed that any venues do not have level access, then a ramp will be provided
- There should be a large-print ballot paper on display and a handheld version available for voters to use, as well as magnifying glasses and tactile voting devices
- Staff should wear name badges
- Pencil grips are provided in the pencil case, or voters can use their own pen/pencil to mark the ballot paper
- Seating should be available for voters
Some polling stations may have additional measures upon request by electors. If your polling station is one of these, then we will let you know.
When setting up polling booths, you should make sure that you work in pairs, as they are large and heavy.
Make sure you have one booth with the desk set at a low level.
Private ID check areas
Most polling station venues have given us permission to use a separate room e.g. an office or a staff area for private ID checks. If they are unable to do this then we will provide an additional booth that can be set up in the corner of the polling station to create a private area.
Presiding officers will receive a confirmation of where the private areas are/whether we need to create one for each polling station.
A booth for a private ID check does not need a desk installed.
A small mirror will be provided for the purpose of putting face or head coverings back on before returning to the polling station.
In your ballot box, you will find a wide variety of polling station signage to put up. We recommend that you use as much as possible, both inside and outside of the polling station, to help voters.
Be sure that you think about if there is a separate access for disabled voters, or if there are multiple entrances to the site.
We have given you some additional signage for this election, with QR codes linking to additional information, that may help answer elector queries. These include guidance on tellers and information about voter ID.
Make sure the lid is on your ballot box and it is sealed with the rivets provided. But don't lock the window for the ballot papers!
You will need the polling station register, CNL and pencil case to check and log voters elector numbers.
You will also need the ballot books, making sure that they are in the correct order and you start from the first ballot paper in book number one. If you are in a polling station with a combined election, make sure you have both ballot papers set up in front of you.
It would also be helpful to have the Voter ID example card out for you to refer to.
There is other paperwork that you will need to complete throughout the day, including logging voters turned away for not having ID.