Legal requirements to be a councillor

To be eligible to stand for election you must be: 

• 18 or over on the day of nomination
• And a UK, Commonwealth or EU citizen

You must also be:

• A registered voter in the district
• Or have lived in the district for 12 months prior to nomination
• Or have worked in the district for 12 months prior to nomination
• Or own a property in the district for 12 months prior to nomination.

It is not necessary for you to live in the ward that you wish to seek election for.

The formal election process begins with the publication of the Notice of Election, after which you may submit nomination papers to formally register your intention to stand for election.

Standing as a member of a political party

If you are thinking of standing as a candidate for a particular political party, you will need to be a member of that party's local organisation. More information on the parties that are currently represented on any of the Dorset councils can be found on their national websites or in the phone book. Otherwise please visit the register of political parties via the Electoral Commission's website, a link to which can be found to the right of this page.

Standing as an independent

The independent group on the Local Government Association has prepared a handy hints guide for independent councillors and candidates. A link to this can be found on the right of this page.

The nomination process

Nomination is the formal process of putting yourself forward for election. Nomination papers are available from the elections office in the council offices. If you are standing as a member of a political party your nomination papers may also be obtained from the appropriate party political offices.

To stand as a councillor, your nomination paper must be signed by a proposer, seconder and eight further assentors. These people must be registered voters in the ward that you wish to stand for.

At the close of the nomination period a 'Statement of Persons Nominated' for each electoral area is produced and a copy is sent to each relevant candidate. There is then a statutory period of three days to allow for candidates to withdraw from the election if they wish. At the end of this period any uncontested election results will be published and in such cases the candidates are deemed to be elected unopposed.

If there is a contest, each candidate is notified of the dates and times that the postal votes will be opened, each candidate will also be sent a form allowing them to appoint agents and guests to attend. The candidate will also be sent a Statement of Election Expenses and a Declaration of Election Expenses (these must be completed and submitted no later than 35 working days after polling day.)

The Notice of Poll for each electoral area is then published and sent to each relevant candidate. Candidates may also request a copy of the list of absent voters for the electoral area in which they are standing.

Postal votes are dispatched about a week before polling day; these are then usually opened before the day of the election.

On Election Day candidates may visit the polling stations during polling hours and may attend the counting of the votes after the poll has closed.

After the polling closes the votes are counted and the results are announced.