With local elections coming up on May 6th you may be wondering about the best way to cast your vote, especially with continuing restrictions on movement due to the Coronavirus crisis.
Sheffield City Council has a page entitled How You Can Vote, which offers information on the different ways to place your preference – in person, by proxy or by post – and making sure that you are registered to do so. The deadline for registering to vote in the 6 May 2021 elections is 19 April.
If you choose to vote in person at a polling station, there will be a number of procedures in place to ensure that this is done in a Covid-secure way. There will be limits on the number of people allowed in the polling station at any one-time, social distancing measures in place, and regular cleaning of all touch points. Voters and staff will also need to wear a face covering, unless they are exempt on medical grounds, and bring their own pen or pencil to mark their ballots.
Meanwhile the city council’s SheffNews website has issued Voting in a pandemic – how can you do it? with further advice for the local election, the Police and Crime Commissioner election and the Sheffield Governance Referendum, which are all due to take place on 6 May 2021, after being postponed last year in the early days of Coronavirus
The latter is a referendum to vote on the way that the council is run, with voters asked to choose between the current Leader and Cabinet model and the Committee model. More information will be sent to voters about the choices shortly.
Kate Josephs, Chief Executive and Returning Officer at Sheffield City Council, said: “This year’s elections will be like no other held before. With three postponed elections taking place during Covid-19, we are carefully navigating our way through the Covid regulations and guidance to ensure that polling is as safe and accessible as possible for the people of Sheffield.
I would appeal to everyone to look out for their poll card and have taken the necessary steps to ensure they can vote on 6 May, whether that’s checking if they’re registered, applying for a postal vote or arranging a proxy vote in good time. It is important that everyone in Sheffield has their say on matters that affect them, their community and their city.”
And remember folks, it’s your votes that count.
