Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party, has been found to be registered to vote under two different names. The discrepancy, which occurred in 2020 and 2021, involved registrations under his birth name, David Paulden, and his current name, Zack Polanski. Polanski was recently chosen as the Green Party's candidate for the Oct. 8 by-election in Holborn and St. Pancras, a seat formerly held by Labour leader Keir Starmer.
The Green Party has stated that the dual registration was the result of an administrative error by Westminster Council. According to party officials, Polanski changed his name by deed poll in April 2019 and promptly informed the council's electoral services department. He later became aware of the overlap in electoral records and alerted the council again in March 2021. A party spokesman attributed the situation to "administrative cockups by the council, rather than any attempt by him to defraud or mislead anyone."
During his 2019 parliamentary run in the Cities of London and Westminster seat, Polanski was registered as a candidate under his current name. His home address at the time was a flat where he was also registered to vote as David Paulden. This meant that the individual registered as David Paulden was entitled to vote for the candidate Zack Polanski, who is the same person. The electoral registers for Latimer House in Fitzrovia, his address in 2020 and 2021, reportedly showed both names registered to vote.
There is no suggestion that Polanski voted more than once. The Green Party has emphasized that any such claims would be damaging to his reputation. Lawyers representing Polanski have also reiterated that he never voted more than once.
This is not the first time Polanski has faced scrutiny over administrative matters. Earlier in 2026, he apologized for an unintentional mistake regarding council tax on a houseboat, which was later cleared after an investigation into his living arrangements due to financial hardship. In May, he admitted to not voting in local elections, a situation his spokesman attributed to miscommunication and a failure to be registered to vote, despite having stated he would postal vote.
Despite these issues, Polanski expressed confidence at his candidacy launch event, stating, "We have the momentum and we can win." He highlighted his long-standing connection to the Holborn and St. Pancras constituency. The by-election was triggered by Keir Starmer's departure from Parliament, and while the seat has been held by Labour since 1983, the Green Party believes it has a strong chance of taking it. The party's national polling has seen a dip since Starmer became leader of the Labour Party. Polanski has previously stated his excitement about the prospect of winning the seat and entering the House of Commons.