Everything Students In Greater Manchester Need To Know About The 30 July By-Election (Including The ID You'll Need)

If you live in Greater Manchester, you've got an election coming up that wasn't on anyone's calendar a few months ago.

On Thursday 30 July, voters across all ten boroughs will head to the polls to elect a new mayor, after Andy Burnham stepped away from the role to take up his new seat as MP for Makerfield. By law, you can't hold both jobs at once, so the mayoralty needed a by-election, and it has to happen within 35 days of the seat becoming vacant.

A New Way of Voting

This election will also look a bit different at the ballot box. Greater Manchester is switching back to the Supplementary Vote system, which was used for mayoral elections until 2022. Instead of picking just one candidate, you get a first and second choice. If nobody passes 50% of first-choice votes, the top two go into a run-off using everyone's second preferences. It's a system worth understanding before you get to the polling station, so you're not working it out for the first time with a ballot paper in hand.

Don't Forget Your ID

Here's the bit that trips people up: in England, you now legally need to show photo ID at the polling station to vote in local and mayoral elections, no ID, no ballot paper. The good news is the accepted list is broader than most people think. A passport or driving licence obviously works, but so does an Older Person's Bus Pass, a Blue Badge, and, helpfully if you're a student without either of those to hand, a PASS-accredited proof of age card. That includes TOTUM ID, which is already listed as valid for voting in UK elections alongside its usual jobs of getting you into venues and past the odd bouncer.

If you don't have any of the accepted forms of ID, you're not out of luck, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate from the Electoral Commission, but you'll need to register to vote first and leave enough time before polling day.

The Dates That Actually Matter

Voter registration closes at midnight on 14 July, you can register to vote here. If you want a postal vote, you need to apply by 5pm on 15 July. Proxy vote applications (if you're asking someone else to vote on your behalf) close at 5pm on 22 July. All of these deadlines come around fast, especially with exams, moving out, or summer jobs eating into your July.

Whatever your politics, the practical takeaway is simple: check you're registered, work out which ID you're bringing, and don't leave it until 29 July to sort it out.