Dogs at polling stations: The best pictures from 2026 election day
UK local elections 2026 are underway, with millions of Brits voting in England, Wales and Scotland - and many have brought their dogs along for company!
Dogs are seen waiting patiently outside a village polling station in Sandwick, Shetland as residents cast their votes during UK local elections.
Picture:
Alamy
By William Mata
Millions of Brits are voting today in the 2026 UK local elections, and as has become a recent tradition, many are bringing their dogs along for the occasion.
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Elections are being held on Thursday, May 7, to decide thousands of council seats in England, directly elected mayors in some parts of London, and assembly seats for Wales and Scotland.
Polling stations opened at 7am and will be open until 10pm, and there have been many sightings of dogs being walked around the area and left outside as their owners go to vote.
Counting of the votes for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments will not start until Friday morning, but 46 of the 136 English local authorities are doing so overnight, with the first results expected soon after midnight.
Four councils are not counting until Saturday, three because they also have mayoral elections, and the final result is likely to be late on Saturday night.
Here are some of the best pictures so far of dogs at polling stations.
A dog named Obi-Wan Kenobi outside the St James Church polling station in Edinburgh.
Picture:
Alamy
A dog waits outside Pollokshields Burgh Hall in Glasgow.
Picture:
Robert Perry/Getty
A person poses with their three dogs as they depart a polling station in London.
Picture:
Shutterstock
A women takes a picture of Rory the dog next to a sign erected outside the polling station at St James Church hall in Inverleith, Edinburgh.
Picture:
Jane Barlow/PA Wire
Ingrid, Frank and Zizzi pose for a photographer as they wait outside a polling station in London.
Picture:
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Voters arrive with their dog to cast their vote at Burrelton & Woodside Village Hall.
Picture:
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Flaeda the poodle, named after the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, poses for a picture outside a polling station in London.
Picture:
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
These pups in East Sussex came to the polls complete with rosettes.
Picture:
reppans/Alamy Live News
