The next elections to take place will be the Harlow District Council elections and Essex County Council elections on Thursday 7 May 2026.
District and county council elections
Harlow District Council elections
Harlow is divided into 11 wards, each with 3 councillors. In the May 2026 election, a third of the council is up for election, with 1 councillor to be elected to each ward.
- Bush Fair
- Church Langley North and Newhall
- Church Langley South and Potter Street
- Great Parndon
- Latton Bush and Stewards
- Little Parndon and Town Centre
- Mark Hall
- Netteswell
- Old Harlow
- Passmores
- Sumners and Kingsmoor
Essex County Council elections
Essex County Council has 78 divisions. In the May 2026 election, 1 councillor is to be elected to each division.
Following changes to the Essex County electoral boundaries, Harlow is now divided into 5 county divisions and will elect 1 councillor per division.
- Harlow Common and Church Langley
- Harlow Netteswell
- Harlow Parndon and Toddbrook
- Harlow South West
- Old Harlow
You must have registered to vote to be able to vote in these elections.
You can apply for a postal or proxy vote on our how to vote page.
You will have to show acceptable photo ID at the polling station for this election. If you do not have any of the ID required, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate.
Your polling station will be on the back of your polling card, but you can also use your postcode to check your polling station.
Key dates
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 27 March | 4pm | Notice of election published |
| 27 to 31 March | Poll cards being hand delivered | |
| Thursday 9 April | 4pm | Candidate nomination deadline |
| Friday 10 April | List of candidates published | |
| Friday 17 April | First lot of postal votes issued - hand delivered | |
| Monday 20 April | 11.59pm | Register to vote deadline |
| Tuesday 21 April | 5pm | Postal vote application deadline |
| Wednesday 22 April | Second lot of postal votes issues - sent 1st class with Royal Mail | |
| Tuesday 28 April | 5pm | Proxy vote and Voter Authority Certificate application deadline |
| Thursday 7 May | 7am to 10pm | Polling day |
Guidance for candidates
The deadline for submitting nomination papers is 4pm on Thursday 9th April 2026. Please contact Alison Hodgson on 01279 446038 to book an appointment to deliver your nomination papers. Appointments are available between 10am and 4pm Monday 30 March to Thursday 9 April (excluding weekends).
You can find the full nomination pack and guidance on the Electoral Commission website.
Alternatively, please contact the Elections Office for a copy.
You can find more information about the nominations process and becoming a candidate.
Briefings
Essex County Council (ECC) will be holding a prospective candidate event on Wednesday 25 February at 6.30pm online and Saturday 7 March at 10am in person.
These will focus on what it means to be an ECC councillor rather than the detail of how to stand.
If you are considering standing for election you are encouraged to attend one of the sessions. You need to register your attendance online.
We will be having a briefing for candidates and agents on Monday 24 March from 2 to 3pm – please contact Alison Hodgson if you would like to attend.