Felixstowe residents will vote for their district and town council representatives for the next four years on Thursday May 4, 2023.

Local elections will be held for the first time since 2019 for East Suffolk Babergh, Mid Suffolk and West Suffolk councils, along with Felixstowe town council and parish councils.

Preparation before election day

You must register to vote if you have not done so for a previous election or if you've changed your name, address or nationality. This must be done before April 6 to be registered in time. You can register to vote here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

You can vote in person at a polling station, by post or through another person voting for you.

A postal vote must be sent approximately three weeks before election day, so you will need to register to vote and apply for a postal vote on the GOV.UK website in good time. A ballot paper will then be sent to you.

To vote by proxy, you must print a proxy application form from the GOV.UK site and send it to your local electoral registration office by April 29 at the latest.

Voting in person

A poll card will be sent to you before May 4 if you're registered to vote. The address of your designated polling station will be printed on it, and this will be open to voters between 7am and 10pm on election day.

The May 4 elections will be the first in which you will need to show photo ID when voting in person, such as a passport, driving licence or blue badge. Find out all the valid forms of photo ID here: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-vote/photo-id-youll-need.

You will also need to provide your name and address to the staff at the polling station. Taking your polling card can help to speed the process along but is not mandatory.

Staff will hand you a ballot paper and you should mark your preferred candidate with an 'X' in the square next to their name before putting the card in one of the boxes.

About local elections in Suffolk

All councillors are elected for four-year terms. Aside from Ipswich, Suffolk's district and borough councils hold elections in which all councillors are elected every four years.

Ipswich Borough Council holds elections for 16 out of its 48 councillors every year for three years, then has one year without elections; 2023 is a voting year. The council has three councillors in 16 wards, so each year one position in every ward is voted on.

Like most districts, Suffolk County Council holds whole council elections every four years. The next election will be 2025.

If Suffolk's devolution deal is implemented, elections for a council leader will take place on May 2, 2024. Their term will last for five years and the term for every following leader will last four years.

The devolution deal is subject to the passing of the Levelling Up and Devolution Bill in parliament and a public consultation in Suffolk.

Find out more about how to vote here: https://www.gov.uk/how-to-vote.