WITH an election date set for December 12, plans have now been put in motion to make sure that across Wiltshire voters can have their say.

But the pressure is now on to find enough polling stations and large halls for vote counting which are free that close to Christmas.

Candidates have until November 14 to submit their nomination papers and voters have until November 26 to make sure they are registered to vote.

Dr Carlton Brand is the returning officer in charge of the vote and alongside his day job as a senior leader at Wiltshire Council, he now has to organise a team of staff that will now work around the clock to get everything in place.

The team have 25 days of deadlines, including November 14 when nominations for candidates close.

At least 383 polling stations and two people need to be found to man them each on polling day, but Dr Brand has confirmed some traditional polling venues are unavailable and replacements are needed.

Then larger venues, traditionally the Civic Centre in Trowbridge and Devizes leisure centres are needed to count the all important votes.

Dr Brand said: “The problem isn’t money, as we have a reserves of funds, it's the work load. We need 1,750 staff across 383 polling stations, they all have two police officers and then many council staff to organise the event in the weeks leading up to it.

"The closer to Christmas it gets, the harder it is to find venues. People will be having parties and I don’t want to stop them but elections have priority.”