Polling stations open for voting in Beds, Herts and Bucks
Voting locations are now open for the 2024 general election to choose Members of Parliament for the House of Commons.
Residents of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire can vote for their chosen candidates at their nearby polling place until 22:00 BST. Even if there is a line, you are still allowed to vote as long as you were in it before 22:00.
Results will be announced in the wee hours of Friday, with a significant number anticipated to come in between 3:00 and 5:00 AM.
Response, evaluation, and outcomes will be broadcasted in real-time on the BBC Beds, Bucks, and Herts webpage and BBC Three Counties Radio.
Voting is taking place in all 26 districts spanning the three counties.
There are six areas in Bedfordshire called constituencies - Bedford, Luton North, Luton South and South Bedfordshire, Mid Bedfordshire, North Bedfordshire, and Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard.
Buckinghamshire is divided into eight areas for voting: Buckingham and Bletchley, Milton Keynes North, Milton Keynes Central, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, Chesham and Amersham, Mid Buckinghamshire, and Wycombe.
Hertfordshire is divided into 12 areas for voting, known as constituencies. These areas include Broxbourne, Harpenden and Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Hitchin, North East Hertfordshire, Stevenage, Hertford and Stortford, Hertsmere, South West Hertfordshire, St Albans, Watford, and Welwyn Hatfield.
In a system known as "first past the post", the candidate who receives the highest number of votes becomes the Member of Parliament for that particular area.
A grand total of 650 Members of Parliament will be chosen to represent the United Kingdom in the House of Commons.
The BBC, along with other TV channels, cannot talk about the election until people have finished voting.
You can find additional information about the electoral law and our guidelines at the BBC in this section.
Remember to bring your voter identification card!
Just a friendly reminder that you don't have to bring your polling card to vote in a general election. Instead, you'll need to have one of the 22 accepted forms of photo ID with you.
This can include a passport, a driver's license, or a bus pass for older or disabled individuals.
There have been some individuals who selected to vote by mail and have said they did not get their voting materials on time, or did not receive them at all.
If you haven't received your mail-in ballot, your local council's returning officer can provide you with a new voting package until 5:00 PM on election day.
You are not able to get a new voting package from the polling place near you.
Your filled out postal ballot must reach your city council by 10:00 PM on election day.
If you have your postal vote but are concerned there isn't enough time to send it back by mail before the deadline, you can bring your completed postal pack to your polling station on July 4th before it closes at 10:00 PM.
You also have the option to bring the filled-out form to your local council's electoral-services department at any time this week before 5:00 pm on Thursday.
