Nomination papers filled from the ballot
The election, area, council and date come from the linked ballot. The party's registered descriptions and emblems come from the register. You type the candidate's details once and print a pack that only needs signatures.
Nomination papersNomination paper nounThe form that puts a candidate on the ballot, carrying the signatures and elector numbers of the electors supporting the nomination. A single wrong elector number can make a nomination fail.In Cadrify Cadrify fills nomination papers from the register data your organisation already holds, checked against the same source the returning officer uses.Full definition → have to be on time and correct. The same name, address, description and election details have to appear consistently across the nomination paper, the home address form, the consent to nomination, the party certificate and the agent notification. Copying them by hand across forty candidates is where the errors come from.
Cadrify starts from the ballot. Link a ward to its ballot, and the form type, electoral area, council, seats contested and date of poll are filled in. The organisation's registered party name comes from the party register, and the description and emblem are picked from the list that party is registered for.
Each candidate's details are entered once and flow through every document in the pack. The result is one PDF per candidate laid over the official template, with the signature boxes left blank for wet ink.
How a pack is built
Start from the ballot
Open the Forms tab in the ward workspace. If the ward is not yet linked to its ballot, Cadrify lists the ballots that match the ward, current ones flagged, and you pick one to link it. Once linked, the election details banner shows the election, area and date the pack is built from, and the matching form type is selected.
If there is no ballot, or you are working ahead of it being published, choose a form type and fill the election details by hand.
Election details from the ballot
From the ballot, Cadrify works out which of the four forms applies: parish council, principal area local government, local authority mayoral or Westminster parliamentary. It fills the electoral divisionElectoral division nounThe ward-equivalent unit used by English county councils, each returning one county councillor. The same level of geography is called a ward at district, borough and unitary councils.In Cadrify Cadrify identifies both wards and divisions by GSS code, so a campaign spanning both never confuses the two.Full definition → or ward, the county, district or London borough, the constituency or parish as appropriate, and the date of the election. The authority type is worked out from the council's GSS codeGSS code nounThe nine-character identifier the Office for National Statistics gives every official geographic area in Britain, such as a ward or a constituency, reissued whenever a boundary changes.In Cadrify Cadrify joins all geography by GSS code and never by name, because British ward names repeat across districts.Full definition → so the two options that do not apply are struck through on the printed form.
Everything auto-filled stays editable. What you type wins over what was filled in.
Enter each candidate once
Surname, other names, commonly used names, date of birth and home address are entered once per candidate. The ballot description is chosen from the party's registered descriptions, and the emblem from its registered emblems, both synced from the Electoral Commission register. A branch can set a default description and emblem so each new candidate starts with the right ones.
For a multi-seat ward, the page shows one candidate section per seat contested on the linked ballot. The election and party sections are shared and the candidate sections repeat.
Decide what the ballot paper shows
Tick the qualifications the candidate relies on and the address each relates to. Anything left unticked is struck through on the consent form. If the candidate does not want their home address published, give the relevant area instead and the forms are filled that way. Add an election agentElection agent nounThe person legally responsible for a candidate's campaign spending and the conduct of the campaign, appointed by the nomination deadline. They authorise every item of expenditure and sign the spending return after the poll.In Cadrify Cadrify logs spending and donations against Electoral Commission categories as they happen, so the return builds as the campaign runs.Full definition →, or note that the candidate is acting as their own.
Generate the pack
One candidate downloads as a single PDF. Several candidates download as a ZIP with one PDF each, named for the ward, the candidate and the form. The values are placed precisely onto the official template, so the pack prints at 100% scale and lines up with the form the returning officerReturning officer nounThe official legally responsible for running an election in a given area, receiving nominations, running the poll and count and declaring the result. Candidate spending returns are delivered to them, not to the Electoral Commission.In Cadrify Cadrify fills nomination paperwork and spending returns from the same data your organisation already holds, ready for delivery to the returning officer.Full definition → expects.
Every pack produced is written to the audit log as an export.
In practice
The week nominations open
Link every ward you are contesting to its ballot, set the branch default description and emblem, and enter each candidate as they are confirmed. Packs are ready to print the same day, and a corrected spelling or a changed agent means regenerating the pack.
Three candidates in one ward
Enter all three on the same page. The election and party sections are shared, each candidate has their own section, and the download is a ZIP with three packs in it.
A candidate who wants their address withheld
Turn off the home address on the ballot paper and give the relevant area instead. The nomination paper, home address form and notices are filled consistently.
A parish or a parliamentary contest
The same builder produces the parish council form and the Westminster form. The fields differ, the parliamentary consent has no qualifications section, and Cadrify shows only the fields that form needs.
FAQ
Are these the official forms?
Yes. Cadrify lays the values over the official nomination pack templates for parish, principal area, mayoral and Westminster elections. Print at 100% scale, not fit to page, so the text lands in the printed boxes.
Does it handle the signatures?
No. Signatures, witness details and dates go on in wet ink. Proposer, seconder and assentorsAssentor nounA registered elector who signs a candidate's nomination paper at a local government election to support them standing. English principal council nominations need ten signatures in total, a proposer, a seconder and eight further assentors.In Cadrify Cadrify fills assentor sheets from register data, so the names, addresses and elector numbers match what the returning officer checks them against.Full definition → are not entered in Cadrify either. The subscriber rows are left blank for them to sign on paper.
Where do the party descriptions and emblems come from?
From the Electoral Commission register, synced into Cadrify. The organisation is linked to its registered party in settings, and the pickers offer only that party's active descriptions and emblems.
What if the ward has no ballot yet?
Choose the form type and fill the election details by hand. The party name still comes from the register and the branch defaults still apply. Elections and ballots are updated weekly, so the ballot usually appears well before nominations open.
Can I correct something that was auto-filled?
Yes. Every auto-filled field is a normal field. Whatever you type is what prints.
Who can generate a pack?
Anyone with the organiser role on the branch. Each pack produced is written to the audit log with the ward, the form and the number of candidates.
Does this cost anything per pack?
No. Nomination packs are part of every plan and are not metered.
What this means for your campaign
Details that must match across every form are typed once. Details that must match the register are picked from it. A pack for a whole slate is a single download.
What is left is what the law requires to be done in person: collect the signatures, check the pack and hand it in.
See Cadrify in action
Book a demo and we will walk you through it on a real ward.
- Electoral registerImport the roll, match records across imports and track every change.
- Marked registerScanned marked registers read into turnout on each elector's record.
- Filters & targetingDrag-and-drop filters over the register, used by rounds, drops and dashboards.
- Door-knockingRounds from the road network, recorded at the door on any phone.
- Leaflet roundsDrops on the ward's rounds, handed out by link, sheet or QR code.
- PhonebankingCall lists from your contacts, a script and a one-at-a-time call screen.
- GOTVTelling at the station, knock-up rounds and turnout live through the day.
- VerificationSample the count box by box and read a live projection with a margin of error.
- Events & sign-upsSign-up pages, QR check-in and consenting attendees saved as contacts.
- Supporter actionsPetitions, open letters and forms on a public link, with consenting signers saved as contacts.
- Fundraising betaDonation pages on your own Stripe account, recorded for the PPERA return.
- Posters & boardsPoster and board requests on a map, bundled into rounds for volunteers.
- Activists & CRMMember, supporter and volunteer records, matched to the register.
- Data & complianceAudit trail, subject access, erasure and access control.
- Gamify your campaigningLive leaderboards, a level ring and a trophy case for every volunteer.