Ribble Valley goes to the polls in 'Covid-safe' elections

And you can get an emergency proxy vote or replacement proxy vote until 5pm on polling day if you or your proxy-voter test positive for Covid-19.

By-elections will take place in three Ribble Valley borough wards: Billington and Langho, West Bradford and Grindleton, and Mellor. There will also be an election for Bolton-by-Bowland parish council.

Elections will also take place for Lancashire County Council’s four Ribble Valley divisions – Clitheroe, Ribble Valley North East, Ribble Valley South West and Longridge with Bowland – as well as the Lancashire police and crime commissioner.

Voters throughout Ribble Valley have recently received poll cards giving the location of their polling station. Stations will be open from 7am to 10pm and all registered electors will be able to cast their vote in person, unless they have registered to vote by post.

You are asked to wear a mask, take your own pen or pencil and not your polling card.

Once inside the polling station, you are asked to follow the one-way system and tell polling staff your name and address, so that your details can be checked against the electoral register. You will be given a ballot paper for each election you are entitled to vote in.

The ballot papers list the candidates standing for election and you are asked to take the ballot paper to a polling booth and mark a cross (X) in the box to the right of the name of the candidate or candidates you want to vote for, fold the ballot paper in half and put it in the ballot box.

There is a form of voting in the police and crime commissioner election called supplementary voting, in which you will be asked to vote for your first and second preferred candidates.

If a candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the first preference votes, he or she is elected. If not, the second preference votes of the two highest candidates are added to their tally and the candidate with the highest number is elected.

The deadline for the replacement of spoilt or lost postal votes or emergency proxy votes is 5pm on polling day.

You can apply for an emergency proxy vote if you test positive for Covid-19 and appoint a new proxy voter if your existing proxy-voter tests positive.

Please note your newly-appointed proxy-voter will remain your proxy-voter for future elections.

A full list of election candidates and the locations of polling stations is available at ribblevalley.gov.uk.Further details are available from Ribble Valley Borough Council’s elections team on 01200 414411.