Everything you need to know about 2021 Surrey elections

But they will go ahead in spite of Covid-19, the Cabinet Office announced earlier this month.

Many borough and district councillors, as well as the police and crime commissioner, have been in office a year longer than expected as last year’s elections had to be postponed.

So how do you manage around 900,000 people voting in the midst of a pandemic?

The Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to Kath Richards, electoral services manager for Runnymede Borough Council, who said this is the most complex election she has had to arrange in her 20 years’ experience in the field.

Kath Richards, Runnymede's electoral services manager.

Who is having elections on May 6?

• Surrey County Council
• Elmbridge Borough, Mole Valley District, Reigate and Banstead Borough, Runnymede Borough, Tandridge District, Woking Borough – delayed from 2020
• Police and Crime Commissioner – delayed from 2020
• Also in some places, parish councils and neighbourhood plan referenda

Will polling stations be safe?

We’ve been working very carefully with the county council to have PPE supplies in the polling stations.

Each one will have an extra member of staff to ensure social distancing is adhered to at all times.

There will be sanitisation stations and ways in and ways out to keep the flow going and people will be encouraged to sanitise their hands when they come in and also when they go out.

Electors will be told they will need to wear a face covering.

We are suggesting that they bring their own pen or pencil with them. If they don’t, we will have spares in the polling stations which will then be disinfected after they’re used.

Are voters allowed to use a pen?

Yes it makes no difference to us; as long as people are able to cast their vote we are happy.

It’s always traditionally been those stubby little black pencils that are attached to the string.

It’s just something that’s always been done, but there’s nothing in the legislation that says it has to be a pencil.

Will entry be refused for anyone turning up to vote without a mask?

No, no one will be denied the opportunity to vote, we would not disenfranchise somebody. We will have spare masks available if someone forgets to bring one, but we would never turn somebody away.

We’ve been told by the Cabinet Office that we are not policing this. We would encourage everybody to wear a mask. We can’t enforce it, a bit like the shops, but the suggestion is that people do wear them.

Will polling station staff have to take a coronavirus test beforehand?

No. That’s a national decision, we are governed by the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office.

We’re not doing Test and Trace [asking visitors to scan a QR code to check in] because we don’t have the facilities to do it.

My understanding is that it’s a bit like when you go do your click and collect shopping, you’re not in there for very long.

Do larger venues need to be found to allow for social distancing?

No, we are restricted on where the polling stations are and where we have them; we have risk assessed them and we are confident that they can accommodate us.

The two currently being used as vaccination centres, Hythe Centre [Egham] and Chertsey Hall, will stop vaccinating for one day.

The only polling station in Runnymede we have not been able to use is the Jurgens Centre [Englefield Green], which has been replaced by one at Royal Holloway University of London.

Have you seen an increase in the number of people applying for postal votes and do you expect this to rise? 

Yes we have, I have prepared for double the amount. Colleagues within Surrey, some have seen an increase of 10 per cent [at this stage prior to election]. And we’re still three months away from the election so people might not have it at the forefront of their mind to start applying.

We’ll work across our social media and residents’ newsletter to get the word out that polling stations will be safe places to vote. But it’s also very possible to have a postal vote and if you want one, the best thing is to apply early.

A household notification letter is going out to every Runnymede household this week to let people know who is registered to vote there and by what medium. We’re hoping that if it says polling station it might make them think, well actually I’d rather have a postal vote. We’re pulling out all the stops, that’s not something we would normally do.

What’s the deadline to register to vote?

To get on the electoral register, register online by Monday 19 April.

To get a postal vote, apply by 5pm on Tuesday 20 April.

Postal votes are sent out about 10 days before the election.

To apply for a proxy (someone authorised to vote on your behalf) to vote in a polling station, apply by 5pm on Tuesday 27 April.

Government guidelines for Covid-19 contacts:

If you are a ‘contact’ of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, you must stay at home and complete 10 full days isolation.

The government’s February 2021 definition of a ‘contact’ is:

• anyone who lives in the same household as another person who has COVID-19 symptoms or has tested positive for COVID-19
• anyone who has had any of the following types of contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19:
• face-to-face contact including being coughed on or having a face-to-face conversation within one metre
• been within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact
• been within 2 metres of someone for more than 15 minutes (either as a one-off contact, or added up together over one day)
• travelled in the same vehicle or a plane