Thousands of Somerset residents will be making their way to the ballot box for the County Council elections tomorrow (5 May 2022).

Some 434,000-plus residents are eligible to vote for two of the 337 prospective councillors vying for their support today with 110 seats available across the county as Somerset prepares for the biggest change in local government in decades.

For their first year, the councillors will take responsibility for all current County Council services and oversee the local government reorganisation to establish a single unitary council on 1 April 2023. District councils will remain until 31 March 2023 and the councillors serving on them will continue in their roles until that date.

From 1 April 2023, the 110 councillors of the unitary council will be responsible for services that are currently delivered by the county and four district councils, ranging from adults and children's social care to highways and housing, and from libraries to planning and licensing. So, it is crucial that people in Somerset use their two votes to elect those who will represent them for the next five years. City, town, and parish council elections are taking place on the same day.

Counting starts at 10am on Friday 6 May and the election results will be announced throughout the day – keep up to date by following Somerset County Council's Twitter account @SomersetCouncil and #SomersetVotes. Results will be updated throughout the day on the County Council's website: https://www.somerset.gov.uk/

Polling will take place between 7am and 10pm at the 477 polling stations across Somerset.

Voters need to check their polling card to make sure they know where they should cast their votes – it's easy to check which polling station to use by entering your postcode HERE:

Postal voters can hand their ballot pack into their allocated polling station by 10pm if they have missed the posting deadline.

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