East Surrey Council : Dorking Rural Ward By Election: 10 December 2026

A vacancy has arisen in the Dorking Rural ward of East Surrey Council following the resignation of Councillor Jo Farrar-Astrop.

An election has been called to fill the vacancy and this will be held on Thursday 10 December 2026.

Register to vote

You must be registered to vote to be able to participate in the upcoming elections and the statutory deadline to register to vote, in time for these elections, is midnight, 24 November 2026. Follow this link to register to vote. A paper form can be requested from the Electoral Services at Pippbrook by calling 01306 879198 or by sending a message to Electoral Services.

Register for a postal vote

The statutory deadline to apply to vote by post is 5pm, 25 November 2026. The same deadline applies to make changes to existing postal voting arrangements; cancel postal voting arrangements, or to make changes to, or cancel, postal proxy voting arrangements. Follow this link to apply online for a postal vote. A paper form can be requested from the Electoral Services at Pippbrook by calling 01306 879198 or by sending a message to Electoral Services.

Apply for a proxy vote

The deadline to appoint a proxy in time for this election is 5pm, 2 December 2026. One-off proxy voting arrangements, i.e. for this election only, can be applied for online – follow this link to apply for a one-off proxy vote

Those requiring a physical form, or those that require long-term proxy voting arrangements should contact Electoral Services at Pippbrook by calling 01306 879198 or by sending a message to Electoral Services.

Voting at a polling station

All polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm. If there’s a queue at your polling station, you’ll still be able to vote as long as you joined the queue before 10pm.

If you go to a polling station to vote you must take photographic identification with you. The full list of accepted identification can be found on the Electoral Commission’s website.

You can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate if you do not have an accepted form of photographic identification. A Voter Authority Certificate can be used in lieu of an ID document. The easiest way to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate is online – follow this link to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate. A paper form can be requested from the Electoral Services at Pippbrook by calling 01306 879198 or by sending a message to Electoral Services. The deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate, in time for this election, is 5pm, 2 December 2026.

Visit the Electoral Services section of the MVDC website for more information.

For more information on local government reorganisation and shadow authorities, please visit the Future Surrey website.

Last updated 23rd October 2026