Review of polling stations and polling districts

Open for comments from Monday 7 October to Monday 18 November 2024.

We want to make sure that voting is accessible for everyone, this includes making sure your allocated polling station is close to where you live and that the building is suitable to be used as a polling station.

Our priorities are that:

• all voters in Cambridge have such reasonable facilities for voting as are possible in the circumstances
• so far as is achievable, every polling station that we are responsible for is accessible to voters who are disabled

Polling district boundaries

A polling district is a sub-division of a city ward. Electors within a polling district will be assigned a polling station at which to vote.

Typically, there are three or more polling districts within each city ward. This review is concerned only with the boundaries of the polling districts within each ward. A polling district cannot cross over any other electoral boundary.

There is no scope within this review to change the boundaries of city council wards, county council electoral divisions, or parliamentary constituencies.

When deciding on where to put polling district boundaries we must take the following into account:

• polling district boundaries do not cross city ward, county division or parliamentary constituency boundaries
• well-defined boundaries that follow the natural boundaries of the area, making clear which properties belong in the polling district
• suitable pathways and transport links within the polling district
• obstacles to voters crossing the current polling district and reaching the polling station, such as major roads, railway lines or rivers

Polling stations

When assessing the suitability of a building for use as a polling station, we need to consider how the size and layout allows for the most effective flow of voters to reduce the risk of congestion and queues.

Those instances where there is a high number of electors in the polling station at any one time on polling day should also be considered.

A small polling station should be able to accommodate around 2,500 potential voters, and a large station around 5,000.

Each polling station should be designed to provide suitable conditions:

• for the elector to vote in private and to be able to show their photographic identification in private if requested
• for staff to conduct elections in an efficient and effective manner
• for those entitled to observe the voting process to do so without compromising the secrecy of the ballot

We prefer not to use schools or other educational places as polling stations.

We rely on those who manage community buildings to make their premises available to us for elections. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, and sometimes we need to make compromises on the location and buildings we use.

Look at our ward maps with their polling districts and see where polling stations are currently located.

Have your say

Select the 'Take the survey' button to leave your feedback.

The survey will remain open until Monday 18 November.

If you need any further information, email us at elections@cambridge.gov.uk.

Next steps

Following the public consultation, a report will be put to the Civic Affairs Committee to agree the new boundaries and polling station locations.

The new polling districts will be reflected in the revised register of electors when it is published on 1 February 2025, and the new polling stations will be in place for the scheduled elections taking place on 1 May 2025.