Update: Tuesday 18th June 2024 is the deadline to register to vote for the general election.
A snap general election could be called any day. This will be the first general election that requires photo ID if you vote at the polls (postal votes 📫 are unaffected by the Election Act 2022).
If you don't have an approved form of identification (list here), you can apply for a FREE voter ID photo card. Find out more below or use these 5 minutes to register and get your ID sorted instead ❎ because, and this is important to know, the government really doesn't want young people to vote.
The Explanation
Rishi Sunak, UK Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party, may call a snap election in 2023. (A snap election is a vote brought in earlier ⏱ than the one that’s scheduled 🕐) The UK’s next general election (for MPs and the PM) is meant to happen between December 2024 and January 2025.
A snap election happens in as little as 25 days 😨 between the announcement (aka the PM asking the House of Commons’ to approve the dissolution of Parliament) and the vote 🏃♀️
You must be registered to vote - currently over 8 million people are not. Unlike other a democratic countries, the UK doesn’t automatically register all eligible voters. You have to do this yourself. Here’s a quick reminder of how to register:
Over the past 15 years, it has gotten harder for British citizens to vote:
Families can no longer register to vote as a household 🏡 so young voters must register themselves (Cameron Govt)
Colleges and universities are barred from registering students 👨🎓 (Cameron Govt)
The Elections Act requires photo ID 🤳 for anyone voting in person (Johnson Govt)
Local elections (for city and town governments) in 2023 were the first votes that required VOTER ID. According to the Electoral Commission, over 14,000 people were turned away from the polls because they had not heard about the change.
The House of Lords tried to amend the Elections Act before it passed, to include more common types of ID, such as bank statements, bills, student ID, library cards and much more. This amendment was struck down in the House of Commons. A lot of the IDs included in the approved list are more likely to be owned by older voters than younger ones. For example, a 60+ Oyster Card is acceptable ID but an 18+ Oyster Card is not.
Here’s the important thing to know: voters who don’t have a driving licence or passport or other approved forms of ID, can apply for a free voter ID photo card. Watch the video below to find out how!
And finally, please, for the love of our democracy, vote.
"Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles." Abbie Hoffman
Carney said he needs a strong mandate to deal with a festering trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney calls for snap election amid trade war with U.S.
Carney said he needs a strong mandate to deal with a festering trade war launched by U.S. President Donald Trump.
March 23, 2025, 11:04 AM MST / Updated March 23, 2025, 11:54 AM MST
By Mirna Alsharif
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called for a snap election amid a festering trade war and annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Carney, who was elected by the Liberal Party earlier this month to replace Justin Trudeau following his resignation, called the election for April 28, saying he needs a strong mandate to deal with tariffs issued by the Trump administration and the threat they pose to Canada’s economy. The election was originally set for Oct. 20.
The center-left prime minister has experienced a surge of support after she rebuffed U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to seize Greenland.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark has emerged as one of the more based leaders of Western democracies. Her resistance to Donald Trump's lust for Greenland has boosted her popularity in Denmark. Do she has decided to take advantage of that approval spike by calling early parliamentary elections.
Denmark will hold a snap election next month, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced Thursday.
“I have recommended to King Frederik that elections be held on March 24,” Frederiksen told lawmakers during a plenary session of the Danish parliament in Copenhagen.
With less than a year left in the current parliamentary term, the country was due to go to the polls no later than Oct. 31. But the decision to move up the date of the vote is likely based on the surge of support Frederiksen’s ruling Social Democrats have experienced as a result of U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive threats to annex Greenland.
[ ... ]
In an interview later Thursday with DR, Frederiksen said it was a responsible decision to call for elections now, despite the pressure from Trump’s escalations over Greenland. “You could also put it this way: Trump should not decide over Greenland, and he should not decide when there are elections in Denmark either.”
In NATO countries, the "Trump effect" has been producing unfavorable results for him.
In Canada, the Liberal Party was running third in some polls in December of 2024. When newly installed Prime Minister Mark Carney called early elections for last April the Liberals won a near majority in Parliament.
Mette Frederiksen is counting on a "Greenland bounce" thanks to Trump.
Greenland is not the only issue in Denmark. But Frederiksen has shown that Denmark won't be bullied by Trump. And she does well on another big European issue – migration. Under Frederiksen, Denmark has placed strict controls on the number of migrants settling in the country. So far right parties have not been able to gain much traction on the issue; two far right parties together have only one-eighth of the seats in parliament.
The Folketing is Denmark's 179 member unicameral parliament. If you include the 2 MPs each from Greenland and the Færoe Islands, there are 16 parties plus several independents. No single party has won a majority in living memory. So if Frederiksen's Socialdemokratiet party comes in first, it will still be necessary to put together a coalition government.
BTW, another NATO country is having national elections weeks after Denmark – Hungary. Putin fanboy Viktor Orbán is currently behind in the polls. So it's possible he may lose – despite getting Donald Trump's endorsement.
Reuters l Seoul: South Korean Opposition Leader Lee Jae-myung was elected president in Tuesday's snap election**(June, 3 KST)
more at Reuters
According to National Election Commission data, Lee had 49.42% of the vote and the conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo had 41.15%.
**The snap election was triggered by the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who plunged South Korea into turmoil with his December declaration of martial law last year.
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New president vows to unite divided nation in inaugural address
President Lee Jae-myung pledged Wednesday(June 4th, KST) to make national unity his top priority, vowing to break with the era of divisive politics.
In his inaugural address at the National Assembly in Seoul, Lee cast himself as a “president for all,” emphasizing that the office carries a responsibility to serve every citizen — regardless of whom they supported at the ballot box.
"It is time to build bridges of coexistence, reconciliation and solidarity over the hatred and confrontation that have divided us,” Lee said. “Now is the moment to open wide an era of happiness for the people, filled with dreams and hope," he said, "Unity is a mark of competence, while division is a result of incompetence. We will restore communication and dialogue on the foundation of coexistence and integration, and revive a politics of concession and compromise." more at Korea Times
