Have your say: review of polling districts & polling stations

A review of polling districts and polling station locations is underway in Blackburn with Darwen.

Residents of the borough are being asked their views on the places where they go to cast their votes in local and general elections.

The consultation is available online and open to anyone until 5pm on Friday 10 November.

Denise Park, Election Returning Officer for Blackburn with Darwen and the Council’s Chief Executive, explained:

Within the 17 wards of Blackburn with Darwen, there are 66 polling districts and a total of 66 polling stations.

It is a statutory requirement that the Council consults electors on polling districts and polling stations every five years.

We are anticipating changes to parliamentary constituency boundaries in the UK ahead of the next general election in 2024. The review of the borough’s polling station locations must be completed in good time before that.

Our review will take into account feedback from voters, elected members, disability groups, polling station staff and polling station inspectors. We will also be carrying out specific consultations with schools that are used or could be used as polling stations.

The review will take into consideration the recommendations for changes to the UK Parliamentary constituency boundaries and the impact of the voter ID requirements introduced for the first time for the 2023 local elections.

Any new polling stations proposed through this review must be accessible to people with disabilities, and also provide private areas suitable for the checking of voter ID.

Any Blackburn with Darwen residents who would like to share their views through the polling places review can visit bit.ly/pollreview.

Final recommendations based on findings from the review will be included in a report to Policy Council on 30 November 2023.

Following completion of the review, a revised electoral register will be published on 1 February 2024. Any new polling places will become effective from 2 May 2024.