Planning for Lincolnshire County Council elections is still ploughing ahead
Planning for the May county council elections is still ploughing ahead, it has been confirmed.
But there will be extra measures in place in light of the Covid pandemic.
The county council elections, which take place every four years, will be held on Thursday, May 6, the same day as the rescheduled Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections.
A spokesman for Lincolnshire County Council said: “The government confirmed elections will go ahead on May 6. In Lincolnshire we have our county council elections, the Police and Crime Commissioner elections, and City of Lincoln Council (CoLc) elections (both PCC and CoLC delayed from last year).
“Extra measures will be put in place at polling stations to make sure voting is safe – social distancing, mask wearing etc. But if people would rather not leave their homes to vote, they should apply for a postal vote through their local district council’s election team. If people would like a postal vote, they should apply early to give plenty of time for their application to be processed.
“The deadline for applying to vote by post is Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
“On election day, polls will be open as usual from 7am to 10pm. Some polling stations may be different this year, so check your poll card carefully. Although you do not need to take your poll card with you to vote.”
The government took the decision to postpone any local, mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections that were due to take place in May last year until this year, following advice from medical experts in response to Covid-19 and the advice of those delivering elections.
In Lincolnshire, the role of Police and Crime Commissioner is currently held by Marc Jones.
The county council is made up of 70 seats, with the Conservatives winning 53.3% of the seats in the 2017 elections.
The government has announced plans to provide an estimated £92million of funding to local authorities across the country for the elections.
Out of this, £31million is an uplift to address costs associated with making the elections Covid-19 secure.