NOTICES for the Harlow Council and Essex County Council elections, taking place on Thursday 7 May 2026, have been published.

Harlow Council election

There are 11 out of 33 council seats up for election, with one councillor to be elected in each of the 11 wards.

Essex County Council election

All 78 seats on Essex County Council are up for election, including 5 seats for Harlow. One councillor will be elected in each division. The Harlow divisions are:

• Harlow Common and Church Langley
• Harlow Netteswell
• Harlow Parndon and Toddbrook
• Harlow South West
• Old Harlow

Voter information

Polling cards and information on how to vote are being hand-delivered to households from 27 March 2026.

Key election dates

• Thursday 9 April, 4pm – Close of nominations
• Friday 10 April – List of candidates published
• Friday 17 April – First issue of postal votes (hand delivered)
• Monday 20 April, 11:59pm – Deadline to register to vote
• Tuesday 21 April, 5pm – Deadline to apply for a postal vote
• Wednesday 22 April – Second issue of postal votes (sent first class via Royal Mail)
• Tuesday 28 April, 5pm – Deadline for proxy vote applications and Voter Authority Certificate applications

The notices can be viewed using these links:

• https://www.harlow.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Notice%20of%20election%20-%20Harlow%20District%20Council.pdf
• https://www.harlow.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Notice%20of%20election%20-%20Essex%20County%20Council.pdf

More information is available at: https://www.harlow.gov.uk/voting-and-elections/latest-election-news