So – the election is nearly upon us!

Main things to remember about voting:

• Polls are open 7am to 10pm.
• You don’t need your poll card to vote, but you must go and vote in the right (local) polling station. If you’re not sure where this is, contact Haringey Council or email me (with your address) on lynne@lynnefeatherstone.org
• Also contact me if you’d like a lift to the polling station and back home again.
• If you have a postal vote and not returned it yet, you can still either post it today (Wednesday) and the Royal Mail should return it in time – or it can be handed in at any polling station in Haringey on Thursday.
• Most people will have two ballot papers: one for the general election where you can vote for ONE candidate and one for Haringey Council where you can vote for THREE candidates. If you are an EU citizen living here, you can vote for Haringey Council but not in the general election.
• In case of a medical emergency, you can get a proxy vote (i.e. get someone to vote on your behalf) until 5pm on Thursday – so if this situation applies contact Haringey Council ASAP – 020 8489 0000.

And if you’ve never voted before – don’t worry, it’s quick and easy – and important! There are rarely queues of much length, there are staff on hand to explain what to do – and there are even special indelible pencils in the polling booths so you don’t even need to bring a pen with you!

Finally, when you go to vote you may well see ‘tellers’ from the Liberal Democrats and other parties outside the polling station. These volunteers ask people who are voting who they are (but not which way they are voting). This is so that when we go round reminding people to vote or offering them lifts to the polling station we can skip past people who have already voted and not bother them again.