Local elections 2026: How, where and when can I vote in Essex?

Voting opens across Essex at 07:00 BST this morning, with nearly 1.4 million registered voters eligible to head to the polls and put an X on their ballot paper.

These local elections are the biggest to take place since 2021.

Here's a roundup of some useful bits and pieces you might want to know on polling day.

Across the Essex County Council area, all 78 of the local authority's seats are up for election.

This means any party, or parties, could form an administration and run one of the biggest councils in England.

Last year's county council elections were postponed, and there have been some changes to boundaries since they were last contested in 2021. There are also three extra council seats now.

A record number of candidates - 432 - from 14 different parties (some candidates are independents) are standing in the Essex County Council election.

In Thurrock, every seat is up for election. In Southend-on-Sea, a third of seats are being contested.

Six district councils have a third of their seats up, one in every ward of Basildon, Brentwood, Epping Forest, Harlow, Rochford and Colchester. Voters here will get one ballot paper for the county and another for their district council.

If you haven't chosen to vote by post or by proxy, then yes - you will need to go to a polling station to vote.

You won't need to bring the polling card you'll have received in the post, though it might speed up the process, but you will need to show photo ID when you get there.

The Electoral Commission website has a full list of what sorts of ID are accepted, but some of them are:

• passports
• driving licences
• older or Disabled Person's bus passes
• Oyster 60+ cards
• Armed Forces Veteran Cards

You can use out-of-date photo ID as long as you look the same.

If you wear a face covering, such as a medical mask or a veil worn on religious grounds, you will be asked to remove it briefly so polling station staff can check that your ID looks like you.

And what if you don't have an acceptable form of ID?

Voters in England whose ID is lost or stolen can apply for an emergency proxy vote, up until 17:00 on polling day.

Both they and their proxy - the person nominated to vote on their behalf - must already be registered to vote. The proxy must have correct ID.

Polling stations open at 07:00 and close at 22:00, but if you're in the queue at 22:00 then you will still be allowed to vote.

Most of the time, polling stations are in churches, community centres and schools but there are some quirky ones in Essex. Four pubs are being used.

The Three Pigeons in Halstead, the Red Lion in Belchamp Otten, the Eight Bells in Bures Hamlet and the function room of the Three Horseshoes in Duton Hill will all have polling stations. With polls opening at 07:00, the bar may not be open the same hours.

In Saffron Walden, an indoor bowling alley is being used and Little Bardfield's cricket pavilion will be hosting the local polling station.

Yes, there are a few - you aren't allowed to take photos inside, because the Electoral Commission, which oversees UK elections, says it risks the secrecy of the ballot.

The punishment for revealing how someone else voted - even accidentally - is a fine of up to £5,000, or six months in prison.

People are welcome to take photos outside.

You can bring your children with you. In fact, it's encouraged to help educate them about democracy, though they're not allowed to mark your vote on the ballot paper.

And animals, apart from assistance dogs, are not usually allowed in polling stations - but photos of dogs outside polling stations has become a big thing on election day, so get ready to see pictures of canine companions left, right and centre.

Read more on what you can and can't do in a polling station here.

In council elections, voters generally have one vote for each available seat in an election area, known as a ward or division. Some wards have more than one representative. Your ballot paper will tell you how many votes you have.

Like MPs in general elections, local councillors are elected under the first-past-the-post system. The candidate or candidates with the most votes in each ward will win and become councillors.

The political party which wins the most seats gains control of the council.

BBC Essex's political reporter Simon Dedman says we'll find out the results, at the latest, on Friday afternoon.

A number of councils are counting papers immediately after the polls close at 22:00 on Thursday. So, the first results will start coming in just after midnight.

By the time you wake up on Friday, we will have an idea of how the political parties have done.

But some councils like Thurrock will be counting during the day on Friday, so we will not know the full results until the afternoon.

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