West Suffolk is getting ready to go to the polls in the December 12 General Election.

Preparations for the General Election are underway and polling cards have been sent to over 160,000 electors for the Bury St Edmunds and West Suffolk constituencies, while those not yet registered are being encouraged to sign up.

Those entitled to vote include in a General Election are British, Irish and qualifying Commonwealth nationals resident in the UK who are over 18 years of age. EU nationals are not able to vote in a General Election.

Anyone who is not already registered, it is quick and simple to register online at www.gov.uk/registertovote. You have until midnight on November 26 to register.

If you are not sure if you’ll be able to vote in person at a polling station, you can request a postal vote. This is an increasingly popular method of voting and if you are registered, you can apply by downloading an application form from www.gov.uk/registertovote. The deadline for postal vote applications is 5pm on November 26.

If you’d like to nominate someone to vote on your behalf, you can apply for a proxy vote. You can apply by downloading an application form from www.gov.uk/registertovote. The deadline for a proxy vote in person at a polling station is 5pm on December 4.

The geographic area of West Suffolk covers parts of three parliamentary constituencies: West Suffolk, Bury St Edmunds and South Suffolk. The election for whole of West Suffolk and Bury St Edmunds constituencies will be managed by the West Suffolk elections team with the count taking place overnight on Thursday, December 12, at Newmarket Leisure Centre and Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre. The South Suffolk constituency is managed by Babergh District Council and the count will take place overnight at Endeavour House, in Ipswich.