Still time to register to vote for upcoming elections

To vote in next month's important Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner election, residents must register to vote by midnight tonight, April 19.

The election itself will take place on the 6 May, with votes counted and the result announced the following day. To register to vote please go to https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

The Police and Crime Commissioner election was postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year, with the support of Public Health, a great deal of work and thought has gone into ensuring this is a COVID-secure election and voters will be able to exercise their right to vote in a free and safe manner.

All polling stations across the county have been risk assessed to ensure social distancing wherever possible. All measures possible are in place to minimise the risk of transmission of infection. Regular sanitisation, face masks, hand sanitiser, social distancing, ventilation measures and where required protective screens, will all be in place at polling venues. Government guidance encourages electors to wear a mask and take their own pencil to vote, although pencils and masks will be available for anyone who needs one.

In Bedford Borough, election staff will be encouraged to test twice in the week leading up to the election, ideally 4 days prior to and on the day of their election duties.

To further reduce the risks of Coronavirus, we are encouraging electors to apply for a postal vote for the elections taking place this year. This must be done by 5pm on April 20. You can download a form to apply for a postal vote at https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voting-person-post-or-proxy/voting-post or call 01234 718078 to request an application form is posted out to you.