Registering To Vote In The General Election

A Handy Guide To The General Election and Voter Registration

 

To vote in the General Election on 8 June 2017 you must be on the Electoral Register by 22 May 2017

 

You don’t need to register again if you’ve already registered, but you might wish to check that you are on the Register. To do this you need to contact your local Electoral Registration Office.  If you live in East Devon, contact – http://eastdevon.gov.uk/elections-and-registering-to-vote/register-to-vote/. If you live elsewhere you can find contact details for it using the ‘postcode search facility’ on the front page of the Your Vote Matters website https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/.

 

You should register to vote if you are:

• 16 or over in England, (but you cannot vote until you are 18)
• A UK citizen
• A qualifying Commonwealth citizen; qualifying Commonwealth citizens are those who have ‘leave’ to enter or remain in the UK, or do not require such ‘leave’
• A citizen of a European Union country living in the UK should register, but most cannot vote in UK Parliamentary elections.
• A citizen of the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, or Malta, who is resident in the UK, can vote in UK Parliamentary elections.
• The definition of ‘resident’ is complex and it is largely at the discretion of the person responsible for the local Electoral Registration Office. If you think you might be eligible to register and to vote in UK Parliamentary elections, attempt to register and then the local Electoral Registration Office will make a decision

• A citizen of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or a British Overseas Territory living in the UK. Gibraltarians resident in the UK may not vote in UK Parliamentary elections
• You may register if you are a student or a British citizen living overseas, you are one of the above and serving in the UK armed forces
• You may register even if you have no fixed address

A non-UK citizen who is resident in the UK and is married to a UK citizen, is not automatically eligible to vote in UK Parliamentary elections. And not all people born in the UK are automatically UK citizens, children born in the UK after 1 January 1983 are only British citizens if either their father or their mother is also British or, and if both parents are foreign nationals, they are legally ‘settled’ in the UK.

 

More details about who is eligible to register and vote in different UK based elections is available at: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/43954/Part-B-Entitlement-to-register-March-2010.pdf

 

If you go to https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote you can:

·       register to vote

·       update your details; change of name or address etc

·       apply for a postal vote

·       ask for your name to be removed from the open register, if you are worried about your personal security

 

To register to vote using the online facility should only take 5 minutes. You will need your National Insurance Number and perhaps your Passport Number, if you have one.

 

• You can also join the Electoral Register by post. The form that you need to complete can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/607718/Register_to_vote_living_in_england_and_wales.pdf.
• If you live in East Devon this form should be returned to Electoral Services, East Devon District Council, Knowle, Sidmouth EX10 8HL

 There are strong personal and political reasons for joining the Register. If your name is on the Register you can choose to vote, or indeed, choose not to vote, but if your name is not on the Register, you lose that choice.

 

Voting in elections is a central part of our democracy. And it is not glib to say that men, and especially women, campaigned, fought and died to win the right to vote. In some parts of the world people are still fighting for democratic elections, so we should not take the right to vote lightly, or take it for granted.

 

Elections are your opportunity to determine the path of politics in your community and in the UK.

 

And if that is not enough to convince you, your local Electoral Registration Office could fine you £80 if you fail to join the register.

 

If you are resident in more than one place, you can register in multiple locations, but you may only vote in one at each election.

 

Everything you need to know about voting in the UK can be found at the Your Vote Matters website https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/ including the address and contact information of your local Electoral Registration Office.

 

The contact details for the East Devon Electoral Services office, which is open Monday to Friday 8.30am until 5,00pm, are –

• Phone: 01395 517402
• Email: electoralservices@eastdevon.gov.uk
• Post: Electoral Services, East Devon District Council, Knowle, Sidmouth EX10 8HL

Useful websites:

Your Vote Matters:                  https://www.yourvotematters.co.uk/

Electoral Commission:            http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/