Pre-Poll Voting

What is pre-poll voting?

Voters can now vote in advance of election day if they want to.

For the elections in October 2011, the pre-poll voting office was at St. Paul's Gate in St Helier. A pre-poll voting office will be established before any future elections and its location and opening times will be publicised here.

What will I need?

You will need photographic identification, such as a driving licence or a passport or I.D. card. As you will be voting in a different place from the polling station in your parish, there is no possibility that you can be recognised by parish staff as the pre-poll vote will be staffed by employees of the Judicial Greffe.

Who can pre-poll vote?

Any registered elector can. You do not need a reason for doing so. You can live in any parish. In addition, the Judicial Greffier will arrange for a registered elector who is ill, disabled or illiterate to pre-poll vote, in another location if necessary.

You can also pre-poll vote if you have registered to vote, but your name and address have been deliberately omitted from the electoral register because there is a risk or threat of harm to you.

Is this different from voting on the day?

Yes. You will be given a ballot paper for each election you want to vote in (one each for the election for Senators, Connétable and Deputy. You are not obliged to vote in every election.) You will be given an envelope to put your ballot paper or papers in after you have voted. You will hand this envelope to staff and they will make sure your vote or votes are sent to the correct electoral district.

What if I vote only in one of the elections, eg Senators' election, and decide later that I want to vote for the Connetable and/or for the Deputy?

Provided you made it clear to the staff when you went to pre-poll vote that you only wanted to vote for Senators, you can return to pre-poll vote for the Connetable or Deputy, or you can attend your polling station on Election Day and vote for the remaining categories of member.