With the general election coming up and campaigning already begun, Sunderland’s residents are being urged to make sure they have registered to vote.
If you aren’t yet registered, you have until Tuesday 26th November to register to vote. Anyone who would like a postal vote has until 5.00 pm on November 26th to get registered.
Currently, there are 204,209 people on Sunderland’s electoral register, 85,601 of whom will have a postal vote.
The candidates for Sunderland’s constituencies will be confirmed after 4.00 pm on Thursday 14th November.
Sunderland’s Acting Returning Officer, Patrick Melia, said, “I would encourage everyone in Sunderland to take action now if they’ve not already registered to vote.”
“It’s quick and easy to register, but after the deadline of Tuesday 26th November it will be too late.”
“As usual, Sunderland will be looking to run an accurate and efficient count that the electorate and candidates can all have confidence in.”
“It isn’t about declaring first, it is about delivering an efficient and organised count. Our early declarations are because of meticulous planning and processes executed by a great team who are extremely well organised.”
Sunderland seats have often been the first to declare their results on general election night.
There are three parliamentary constituencies in Sunderland: Houghton and Sunderland South, Sunderland Central, and Washington and Sunderland West. In the upcoming election, the counts for all three seats will be held at Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre, SR3 1PD.
The same venue was used for the counts in the general elections of 2010, 2015 and 2017. It has also been used for counts and declarations in European, City Council and Crime Commissioner elections.
In the 2019 general election, polling day will be Thursday December 12th and there will be 121 polling stations scattered throughout Sunderland.
If you have not yet registered to vote, you should do so by telephoning the council’s Electoral Services Team as soon as possible on 0191 520 5550.
Alternatively, you can register online by going to https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote, where you can fill in a form in just a few minutes.
