Polling district reviews
In accordance with Section 17 of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013, every council in England and Wales must undertake and complete a compulsory review of all the polling districts and polling places in its area, within a 16-month period commencing from 1 October every five years. The last compulsory review in Ipswich was completed in 2023-24.
Ipswich Borough currently has 16 wards, split into 70 polling districts, 52 polling places and 72 polling stations.
Reviews look at:
- Electorate (the number of electors) equality within polling districts.
- Suitability of polling places – including quantity, location, size, availability, facilities and accessibility.
- Opportunities to reduce the number of schools and mobile polling stations.
- Electorate equality across the 16 Wards of Ipswich Borough Council.
We must ensure:
- Electors have such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances.
- As far as is reasonable and practicable, that polling places are accessible to all electors, including those with disabilities, and when designating a polling place, have regard to the accessibility needs of disabled persons.
Reviews are not concerned with the established ward, county district and parliamentary constituency boundaries; they are only concerned with polling district boundaries.
The recommendations presented following a review must plan for any predicted changes in electorate over the following four years, including extensive property developments.
Definitions
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Polling district
This is a geographical sub-division of an electoral area (e.g. a ward or a constituency.)
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Polling place
This is a designated area or building with space for a polling station to be located within. For example, this could be as widely diverse as a recreation ground or a community centre.
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Polling Station
This is the actual area where the process of voting takes place, within the polling place. For example, this could be a room within a community centre or a mobile unit placed in a recreation ground.
There may be more than one polling station within a polling place.
Current voting arrangements
- Download the Schedule of current voting arrangements (PDF)
- Visit 'Online Mapping'
- Visit 'Find my polling station'
Previous polling district reviews
If you have any queries or require further information about the previous polling district reviews held in 2011, 2013, 2018 and 2023 please contact Electoral Services using the details on the left of this page.