Everything voters in the Wellingborough by-election need to know including polling stations and ID rules

Voters will choose the next Wellingborough MP in a by-election on Thursday, February 15, at venues from community centres to church halls and sports clubs to village centres.

Football fans in Rushden will be over the moon to be voting in their local community club in Hayden Road, home to AFC Rushden & Diamonds as well as Rushden & Higham United.

Golfers could be looking for a different swing as they pop into the John White Golf Club to mark their cards.

Polling cards have been sent out to those about to choose the next MP for the area, so here’s all you need to know about how to vote, where to go and the ID you will need.

A total of 59 polling stations in towns and villages have been allocated to the electorate of about 79,000 registered voters.

Voters can use their allocated venue from Isham in the north of the patch to Bozeat in the south, Orlingbury in the west to easterly Chelveston.

For a full list of polling stations click here.

If you do not have a postal or proxy vote, you can vote in person at your allocated polling station. Your polling station is open from 7am to 10pm.

Voters have been asked to check their poll card carefully for details and the location of their polling station.

You will need to bring an accepted form of photo ID with you.

Accepted forms of ID

- United Kingdom passport/passport issued by an EEA state or a Commonwealth country

- Valid driving licence – including provisional licences

- Biometric immigration document

- PASS card an identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram

- Defence identity card

- Older Person’s Bus Pass, Disabled Person’s Bus Pass, Oyster 60+ Card , Freedom Pass

- Blue Badge

- Electoral identity document

- Anonymous elector’s document

- Electoral identity card

- National identity card issued by an EEA state

Only original documents will be accepted – photos or digital copies of IDs will not be allowed.

How to apply for a voter authority certificate

If you do not have any of these acceptable photo IDs you can still apply for a voter authority certificate on the government website.

You will only need to apply for a voter authority certificate if:

- You do not have accepted photo ID

- You no longer look like the photo on your ID

Applications for a Voter Authority Certificate or Anonymous Elector’s Document valid for this election must reach the Electoral Registration Officer at Municipal Offices, Bowling Green Road, Kettering, NN15 7QX by 5pm on Wednesday, February 7. Applications for a Voter Authority Certificate can be made online https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate.

Postal Votes

If you are already registered as a postal voter, you will receive a postal voting pack by post.

The deadline to return your postal vote by post or handing it in to any polling station is by 10pm on Thursday, February 15.

Registration for postal votes has now closed.

Proxy Voting

If you won’t be able to get to the polling station to vote on day of poll, you can ask someone you trust to vote on your behalf. This is called voting by proxy and the person voting on your behalf is referred to as your nominated proxy.

New applications to vote by proxy at this election must reach the Electoral Registration Officer at Municipal Offices, Bowling Green Road, Kettering, NN15 7QX by 5pm on Wednesday, February 7. Applications for a proxy vote can be made online https://www.gov.uk/apply-proxy-vote.