KEY local elections which will see prominent councillors facing voters at the polls are less than a month away.

All voters in Oxford will have a chance to cast a vote, along with some others in Cherwell and West Oxfordshire, on May 3.

In the city, all 24 wards will have ballots. As part of that, one of two seats in each ward will be elected. Other councillors who were elected two years ago in each ward will serve until 2020.

Some councillors will be standing down, the most prominent being the city council’s former leader Bob Price. He has been a councillor since 1983 and was leader for 10 years until he stood down in January.

Mr Price’s successor and current council leader, Susan Brown, faces re-election in her Churchill ward.

One of the council’s 48 seats has been vacant since November, after Labour’s Northfield Brook councillor Jennifer Pegg died, aged 65. Ms Pegg had been due for re-election this May.

All votes for the city council’s seats will be counted overnight following the close of the vote at 10pm.

Anita Bradley, Oxford City Council’s returning officer, said: “Taking part in this country’s democratic process is a well-founded right, but it is one that you can only take part in if you are registered.

“It doesn’t take long to register, so please make sure you don’t miss out in the forthcoming council election.”

All candidates have until 4pm today to submit their candidacies and they will be published at 4pm on Monday for the city council elections.

Electors have until April 17 to submit their registration to vote, and the last day for postal vote applications is at 5pm the next day, April 18.

Proxy vote applications must be submitted by April 25. The poll will be held from 7am until 10pm on May 3.

In Cherwell district, 17 councillors will be elected. One of three councillors in each of its 16 wards will be selected. Another election will be held to plug the gap left by former councillor Ken Atack, who has resigned his Cropredy, Sibfords and Wroxton seat after moving away from the ward.

In West Oxfordshire, 17 of the council’s 49 seats are up for election and all people living in those wards should have received their polling card by now. Another 115 seats on 17 town and parish councils are also up for selection across the district.

Keith Butler, the district council’s electoral registration officer, said: “All too often people turn up at the polling stations to find out they are not able to vote as they are not on the register.

“Often it is because they have changed address and not realised that they need to re-register. Also, some people think that paying council tax adds them to the electoral register but it does not as this is a separate system.”

If you have not received your polling card yet, get in touch with your council. Register at gov.uk/registertovote