Upcoming elections

• Poll card delivery: around Monday 30 March 2026
• List of candidates published: Friday 10 April 2026
• Deadline to register to vote: Monday 20 April 2026 (midnight)
• Deadline to apply to vote by post or change existing postal votes: Tuesday 21 April 2026 (5pm)
• Deadline to apply to vote by proxy or change existing proxy votes: Tuesday 28 April 2026 (5pm)
• Deadline to apply for Voter Authority Certificates (voter ID): Tuesday 28 April 2026 (5pm)
• Polling day: Thursday 7 May 2026 (7am to 10pm)
• Count and publication of results: Friday 8 May 2026

You can find general information about this topic on our postal and proxy votes page.

Postal voting

If you are going to be away, or can’t get to your polling station on 7 May, you can apply to vote by post. You can find out how to apply for a postal vote .

The deadline for applying for a postal vote is 5pm on Tuesday 21 April 2026.

We will start sending out postal votes around 16 April 2026. 

If you apply to vote by post, we will send your ballot papers to you by post, and you must return them by 10pm on election day. You can return you completed ballot by post or deliver it to us by hand. 

Your postal voting pack may look different this year. We are attaching your ballot paper to your postal voting statement, to ensure that you receive all of the important documentation securely.

Proxy voting

If you apply for a proxy vote, you can appoint someone else to cast your vote for you. This should be a friend or family member that you trust.

You can find out how to apply for a proxy vote.

Unless your proxy sets up a proxy postal vote, they will have to go to your polling station to cast your vote.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote or change your existing proxy vote is 5pm on Tuesday 28 April 2026.

However, if you fall ill or are called away for work after this date, you may be able to apply for an emergency proxy.

You will only be able to vote in these polls if you are registered elector, eligible to vote in this type of election and live in one of the Chelmsford divisions of Essex County Council.

If you voted in the last election and have not moved or changed your details since, you do not need to register again.

If you are not currently registered to vote, and wish to vote in these polls, you need to register on the GOV.UK website by midnight on Monday 20 April 2026.

Poll cards

If you are registered, you should receive your poll card from Monday 30 March 2026. Your poll card may be in the form of a letter, but the envelope will be clearly labelled.

If you do not receive a poll card after this date, you can call us on 01245 606449 to check you are registered to vote. 

Make sure that you check which polling station you need to go to, as this may have changed since the last election. You can also find your polling station.

However, you do not need a poll card to vote.

Voter ID

You will need to present an accepted form of photo ID to vote in person at these polls. You can find out more about Voter ID, including what we can accept and how to apply for a free voter authority certificate.

We will publish the names and parties of who is standing for election on Friday 10 April 2026.

We cannot publish any further information about electoral candidates, due to electoral laws.

You may be able to view some candidate details on whocanivotefor (Chelmsford City Council does not monitor or maintain this information).

The Local Government Boundary Commission England (LGBCE) has reviewed Essex County Council's internal voting boundaries. This means that the area that you are voting in may have changed from the last Essex County Council elections in 2021. 

In some areas, they have redrawn boundaries to create new divisions. For example, the Stock division has been abolished. It has replaced by Danbury and The Hannningfields, with Stock and Margaretting now included in the Broomfield and Writtle division. In other areas, the area has just been renamed, like in Great Baddow and Galleywood.

Chelmsford still has nine divisions and will elect nine county councillors. The divisions are:

• Broomfield and Writtle
• Chelmer
• Chelmsford Central
• Chelmsford North
• Chelmsford West
• Danbury and The Hanningfields
• Great Baddow and Galleywood
• Springfield
• Woodham Ferrers

You can find out more about these changes and view a map on the LGBCE website.

We will publish the official notices in due course.