Elections and voting

To be able to vote in elections, you must be registered to vote. By law, you must register to vote if you are eligible to do so, or you could be fined up to £80.

There are 3 different ways in which you can vote in an election, at the polling station, by post or by opting to have a proxy vote on your behalf.

The annual canvass of electors takes place each year between July and November, a revised copy of the electoral register is published on 1 December. The canvass is designed to ensure we have the correct people on the electoral register.

Anyone who is registered to vote can apply to be a postal voter. You do not need to give a reason.

Voting by proxy means that you can appoint someone else to vote on your behalf. Your proxy would need to vote at the same polling station you would vote at yourself. However, if they wish to, your proxy could apply to vote by post as a postal proxy voter.

At the moment there are 47 borough councillors within Chorley. From the election in May 2021 this will reduce to 42 councillors due to a local government ward boundary review, the results of which were announced in March 2019.

You can stand as a candidate in 3 different types of elections. Most candidates are nominated through a political party. However, individuals are welcome to stand in their own right.

Every local authority is required to undertake a review of its polling districts and polling places. View information on our review.

There are 2 versions of the electoral register - the full register and the open register.

Information on the electoral boundaries and wards within Chorley.