FAQs

The election will now take place in October 2020. Polling days will be Saturday 3, Sunday 4, Tuesday 6 and Wednesday 7 October 2020.

The spread of COVID-19 around the globe caused the States to consider whether the General Election should continue as planned in June 2020. On 15 April 2020, the States of Deliberation agreed to postpone the election until June 2021. As lockdown restrictions were lifted at a much faster rate than anticipated the States’ Assembly & Constitution Committee was asked to look again at possible dates for the next General Election in autumn 2020. On 1 July 2020, the States of Deliberation agreed to appoint Wednesday 7 October 2020 as the date for the General Election.

If you have already registered for the Electoral Roll and remain in the same property, then you do not need to do anything and you will be able to vote in October 2020. If you haven’t yet registered for the Electoral Roll you will not be eligible to vote in the October election as the roll has now closed.

You can use the My Details page on gov.gg to inform all States departments of a change of address.

Absolutely. Anyone who turns 16 years of age by 7 October 2020 will be able to vote if they are registered on the Electoral Roll. The Electoral Roll has now closed.

Yes, please tell us if there is any change in your household, for example if someone has moved out or left the Island. The best way is by emailing us elections@gov.gg. You do not need to inform us of a death.

Yes, you can change your postal vote choice (either from or to postal voting) by letting us know in writing before the application for postal votes closes. This can either be by email to elections@gov.gg or by letter care of Sir Charles Frossard house using the address below.

The Electoral Roll lists the names and addresses of people eligible to vote in an election. It is important that this list is up-to-date and accurate to allow people to vote in the General Election. It assists voter administration in polling stations and helps combat electoral fraud by enabling officials to verify that a person is entitled to vote and to ensure a person does not vote on more than one occasion.

The Electoral Roll is available to be viewed in hard copy by the public for a period before the General Election, and copies of the roll are available to candidates standing for election who might use it to get in touch with you. Candidates who have the roll in any form must comply with all the requirements of The Data Protection (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2017.

Those who apply online are sent an auto-reply email from elections@gov.gg confirming registration and postal vote options. There is no immediate confirmation for paper registrations but there are other ways to check if you are on the roll. We will send out registration cards, which will allow you to check the details you submitted when you registered. If you think you are registered but have not received a registration card, or you just want to check your entry, please contact the Election 2020 Office by emailing elections@gov.gg or calling 01481 747579.

You can tell all States departments of your new address through the My Details page on gov.gg. Or if you just want to contact us you can phone 01481 747579 or email elections@gov.gg.

No, we will not contact you to say we have received your form, but we will send you a registration card in due course. This will allow you to check the details you have sent us and contact the Election 2020 Office on 01481 747579 or by emailing elections@gov.gg if there are any mistakes.

Under certain circumstances, where a person or a member of their family or property would be at risk of harm or damage if their address becomes public, such as victims of domestic abuse, it may be suitable to omit their details from the published Electoral Roll. Please contact the Election 2020 Office on 01481 747579 or email elections@gov.gg to discuss anonymous registration.

It’s best practice to have a new Electoral Roll for each election. Without this, the roll soon becomes out of date as people’s circumstances change and this can lead to problems and delays on election day if Polling Station Officials need to undertake checks with the Registrar-General of Electors. Therefore, the previous roll open before 2 December 2019 is no longer valid and we must ask that everyone re-registers. Anyone who has registered since 2 December 2019 is on the current Electoral Roll and does not need to re-register. If you are unsure, contact the Election 2020 Office by emailing elections@gov.gg  or by phoning 01481 747579.

Nominations will open on 1 September 2020. We will publish the candidates' details as soon as we can after the nominations close on 4 September 2020. You will be able to see all the manifestos on this website.

Candidates will be able to share information with you through this website. There will be a page for candidate manifestos with links to their own websites and a short video if they choose. In addition we will compile a joint manifesto in which each candidate will be able to include two A4 sides of their manifesto. This will be delivered to every home on the Electoral Roll. Further copies, if needed, will be available to collect from a central location.

In previous years hustings have been arranged by each district. Now that the Island is one electoral district the old style hustings are unworkable. Instead we are organizing a ‘meet the candidates’ event at Beau Sejour on the 20 September.

There is one Island-wide electoral district to elect all 38 Deputies. Each voter can cast up to 38 votes at the General Election from the full list of candidates. This electoral system was introduced as a result of the 2018 Referendum on Guernsey’s voting system.

If you are registered on the Electoral Roll you can vote in person at either your parish polling station or at a super-polling station. A full list of the polling stations can be found under ‘Voting > Where to Vote’. Please note completed postal votes may also be dropped off at any polling station if the return postal deadline has been missed. A postal vote can only be submitted and accepted at a polling station if it is completed and sealed in accordance with the instructions contained within the pack.

All polling stations will be open from 8am to 8pm.

Given the Island has moved from a multi to a single-district electoral system, the ballot paper will be much larger than ballot papers in previous elections. It is intended that you will have to fill in a small oval shape to indicate your preferences rather than a traditional ‘X,’ as the ballot papers will be read by electronic counting machines. More information on this will be released in due course.

If you are ordinarily resident in Guernsey but will be away for the duration of the election then you can apply for a postal vote. Postal vote applications closed on 25th September.

You can vote for up to 38 candidates. If you vote for 39 or more candidates your vote will not count and will be classed as a spoilt paper.

Ballot papers must not be removed from the polling station. Opting for a postal vote may be the best option under these circumstances.

If you have lost your postal ballot or it has been damaged and can no longer be used please contact the Election 2020 Office on 01481 747579 or email elections@gov.gg.

If you have requested a postal vote and it has not yet been issued you can apply to have your postal vote cancelled at the discretion of the Registrar-General. Please contact the Election 2020 Office on 01481 747579 or elections@gov.gg for help.

Contact the Election 2020 Office on 01481 747579 or elections@gov.gg and a member of the team will help you.

Postal vote applications are now closed.

If you have a complaint about anything to do with the General Election then please contact the Election 2020 Office on 01481 747579 or email elections@gov.gg.

We will comply with all applicable data protection laws. Electoral Rolls given to candidates for use during the election must be returned to the Election 2020 Office after use. To see our Fair Processing Notice click here.

Accessibility has been considered throughout the election organisation process. Working with Third Sector partners and the States Disability Officer, we aim to ensure that information on this website and in documentation is presented in an accessible way.

Documents and forms in large print format are available on request. We aim to have easy access to all polling stations and to offer an adapted polling booth with a lower level writing surface.

Any voter can ask for help filling in their ballot paper and our polling station staff will be ready to assist. In addition our outreach team plans to offer pre-polling assistance to any group which requests it.

We are currently in Phase 5b of our exit from lockdown strategy. This means that normal activity in the Bailiwick has returned. We can meet in groups at events and there are no distancing measures required but we should still respect each other’s personal space, practice good respiratory etiquette, good hand hygiene and stay at home if showing any COVID-19 symptoms.

Canvasing etiquette

Guidance from Public Heath is that hustings can proceed and candidates can canvas door to door, as long as they follow good hand and respiratory hygiene and respect personal space e.g. stand back from the door after knocking. To review the full presentation given by Dr Nicola Brink to the Candidates at the Candidate Briefing click here.

The Election 2020 Office,
Sir Charles Frossard House,
La Charroterie,
St Peter Port,
Guernsey
GY1 1FH