Police and Crime Commissioner election 2024

An election will be held on Thursday 2 May to elect the next Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner. 

North Somerset is one of several local authority areas which are covered by Avon and Somerset Police. The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) election appoints one person to oversee the policing in this area.

The role of the PCC was created by central government in 2011. PCCs have powers over the budget for policing in their area and are responsible for holding the Chief Constable and police force to account on the public’s behalf. They oversee how crime is tackled in their area and aim to make sure that the police are providing a good service.

The PCC role includes:

• meeting the public regularly to listen to their views on policing
• producing a police and crime plan, setting out local policing priorities
• deciding how the budget will be spent
• appointing Chief Constables, and dismissing them if needed

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) serve for a fixed term. We have an election every four years, normally on the first Thursday in May. 

Previous PCC elections used a supplementary vote system with first and second choice options. This election and future PCC elections will use the 'first-past-the-post' voting system with a single vote for a single candidate. 

The election is administered by the Police Area Returning Officer. For North Somerset this is Will Godfrey, Chief Executive for Bath and North East Somerset Council.

To vote you must be:

• on the electoral register
• aged 18 or over on the day of poll
• a British, Commonwealth, Irish or European citizen registered to vote as a UK resident

Ways you can vote

• in the polling station – please note voter identification will be required to be shown by all voters at a polling station
• by post
• by appointing someone you trust to vote on your behalf (known as a proxy vote) 

Deadlines

The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Tuesday 16 April 2024. 

If you are not sure whether you are registered already then please contact electoral.services@n-somerset.gov.uk.

If you want to vote in the polling station but do not have an accepted form of photographic ID, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate.  The deadline to apply for a voter authority certificate is 5pm on Wednesday 24 April 2024.

Postal or proxy vote

If you want to set up a postal or a proxy vote, do it as early as possible and by the deadline. 

The deadline to apply for a postal vote  is 5pm on Wednesday 17 April 2024. (This is also the deadline to change or cancel an existing postal or proxy vote.)

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm on Wednesday 24 April 2024.

Poll cards

Poll cards will be sent out around mid-March. Your poll card tells you your current voting arrangements. If you’re voting in the polling station, it will include details of where you need to go. 

Postal votes

The main issue of postal votes will be sent around Tuesday 16 April 2024. 

There will be a second issue of postal votes sent around Wednesday 24 April 2024 to anyone who applied later than the first deadline.

If you spoil your postal vote then please return it to the Town Hall, Walliscote Grove Road, Weston super Mare, North Somerset, BS23 1UJ with an accompanying letter requesting that a new one be sent out to you.

If you lose your postal pack or it does not arrive, then please contact absent.voting@n-somerset.gov.uk. Please note that we are unable to reissue a lost postal vote until Friday 26 April 2024.

Returning your postal vote

We strongly advise that all postal votes are returned to us via Royal Mail.

If you want to return your postal vote by hand to either the council offices or a polling station, then please note the current changes:

• you will not be allowed to hand in more than five ballot packs for other electors, plus your own
• you are required by law to complete a ‘return of postal voting documents’ form. Failure to do so will lead to all the postal vote(s) being rejected by law.​ The forms will be made available at the council offices and in the polling stations
• postal vote(s) handed in at the council office must be given to a member of staff during office hours. ​Postal votes put in the letter box of the council office will be rejected by law

We offer a range of support to disabled voters, including voters with a learning disability. Most of our polling stations:

• are wheelchair accessible and we provide ramps where needed
• have a polling booth adapted for wheelchair users
• have large print versions of ballot papers, along with aids to enable blind voters to mark their ballot papers without help

If you are a disabled voter and you need support to complete a ballot paper on your own, you can take a friend or relative to the polling station to help you.

The presiding officer at the polling station can also help you fill in your ballot paper.

If you don't want to go to the polling station to vote, you can apply for a postal vote or apply for a proxy vote.

Guides for voters with a learning disability

You can download easy read guides about voting and registering to vote.

If you are interested in learning more about being a candidate for the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner election, please contact Bath and North East Somerset Council by emailing elections@bathnes.gov.uk. They are dealing with candidates and nominations for this election.

Legal notices will be published here when available.