Voting and registration

How to cast your vote in the elections, on the resolutions and how to join your AGM

You can only vote in the Appointing Bodies election and Council election in advance of the AGM.

You can vote on resolutions in advance, or on the day if you register to attend.

Voting is open to all eligible members and you do not have to attend the AGM in order to vote.

If you wish to attend the AGM, you must register in advance.

Vote here

How to vote and/or register to attend

It's easy to vote or register to attend, click here to visit the voting website.

You are able to vote and/or register to attend by post if you have requested a paper copy of this booklet and a postal voting form in advance. The deadline to make this request is 5pm on 11 October. Make a request and find out more on our website here.

The deadline for voting online or by post and registering to attend the AGM is 11:59pm on 25 October.

1. Attending the AGM

The AGM will take place in person at the Newcastle Civic Centre on Saturday 2 November 2024 at 10am. You can also participate online via CESjoinIN, including asking questions and voting on the resolutions.

Please tell us if you plan to join the meeting by selecting the relevant box on the voting form and providing an email address (or telephone number only if you do not have an email address).

Spaces at the AGM venue may be limited and registering your interest does not guarantee an in-person place.

If you wish to attend in person, we recommend you register your interest as soon as possible. If interest to attend exceeds venue capacity, places will be allocated by ballot and some members may be asked to join online.

There is no limit on the number of people that can join online.

Civica Election Services is our independent vote services provider and will contact all attendees in late October to confirm their registration, provide details of how to use CESjoinIN, and issue personal security codes.

In-person attendees can vote with their own mobile devices via CESjoinIN using the security codes provided; alternatively hand-held voting devices will be available.

There is no limit on the number of people that can join online.

In-person attendees can vote with their own mobile devices via CESjoinIN using the security codes provided; alternatively hand-held voting devices will be available.

2. Vote on the resolutions

Please vote on the resolutions if you are not attending the AGM, or if you are attending and prefer to vote in advance. AGM attendees will have the option to cancel their advance vote and vote again on the day.

If you wish to cast your vote on each resolution individually, please click in the for/against/abstain box for each resolution. This is known as a specified proxy vote.

If you wish to give the chair of the meeting discretion on how to cast your vote, please click in the discretionary box for each resolution this applies to. This is known as a discretionary proxy vote.

If you wish to support the Board of Trustees' position on all resolutions, please select the quick vote box.

Vote here

3. Vote for up to 18 Appointing Bodies

The profiles of all the Appointing Bodies can be found in this document here.

You can vote for up to 18 Appointing Bodies by clicking in the relevant boxes on the voting form.

Alternatively, you can vote for the Appointing Bodies recommended by selecting the quick vote option and proceeding to the next section.

If you would like a reminder of the recommended Appointing Bodies you can find these in this document here.

Vote here

4. Vote for up to six Council election candidates

The profiles of all the candidates can be found in this document here.

You can vote for up to six candidates by clicking in the relevant boxes on the voting form.

Alternatively, you can vote for the six candidates recommended by the Nominations Committee by selecting the quick vote option and proceeding to the next section.

If you would like a reminder of the recommended candidates, you can find these in this document here.

Your voting options for the resolutions

If you are not attending the meeting, or wish to vote ahead of time on resolutions, you can cast a proxy vote. The chair of the meeting will be the nominated proxy and will vote as directed by you. This ensures all advance votes cast on the resolutions are registered and counted. There are two types of proxy voting:

• Specified vote This where you specify how you want your vote to be cast by your proxy (the chair) and they act as your representative and vote as directed by you.

• Discretionary vote This is where you give authority to your proxy (the chair) to vote on your behalf in a way they see fit.

Voting on the resolutions and elections

We encourage you to read the information provided about the resolutions, Appointing Body candidates and Council candidates before casting your votes.

The Quick vote option can be used if you wish to vote to support the Board of Trustees’ recommendations on all resolutions, and/or vote for all the Appointing Bodies recommended by the Council, and/or for all the Council candidates recommended by the Nominations Committee. Quick vote is a type of specified vote.

Eligibility to vote and attend

You are eligible to vote in the Appointing Body and Council elections if you joined the National Trust on or before 15 August.

You are eligible to vote on the resolutions if you joined us on or before 23 August.

We check all voting returns against our membership records for eligibility. This helps us to ensure that all votes are valid as part of our voting security arrangements. If a member votes more than once in advance, only the first valid votes recorded will be counted.

If you have recently become a member, you may be unable to log in via the website to vote and register to attend using your membership number. If this is the case, please wait until at least 23 September before visiting the website. Please contact agm@nationaltrust.org.uk if you require additional support.

Vote here

Civica Election Services

Our voting arrangements are managed independently by Civica Election Services. Civica operates the voting website and the participation platform CESjoinIN. If you have any queries about either of these websites, please contact Civica’s customer services team at support@cesvotes.com

Fair processing notice

The National Trust will only process your information for the purpose of managing AGM voting and analysis of voting matters (not how individuals cast their votes). This data will be retained for 14 months before being deleted.

For more information about how we look after your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy on our website here.

Any queries?

If you have any other queries not addressed in this booklet, please call our Supporter Services Centre on 0344 800 1895.

Updates at your fingertips

Keep up to date with AGMs and elections by adding an email address for your membership to My Account. For all the details visit the website here.

With My Account, a lead member can make changes to your membership online, such as requesting a replacement membership card and telling us how you’d like to be contacted.

If you provide an email address, you will receive emails about the AGM and elections as a core part of your membership.

You can choose to receive other emails from your local properties and region and monthly member emails giving you first look at member-only competitions, discounts and previews. You can also choose how you’d like to receive your National Trust Magazine and, if your Handbook still has plenty of wear left, you can opt out of receiving a new one.