Wealden residents will be receiving a form in the post asking them to check and update the information that appears on the electoral register for their address.—Wealden Council, 23 August 2017
“It is important that you do respond whether there have been any changes in your details or not. It ensures that at the next election, or perhaps even referendum, you are able to vote,” said Charles Lant, Returning Officer for Wealden District. “The easiest way to do that is to go online and use the details given in your letter.
“If you do not respond, we have to arrange for a home visit from our electoral canvass team, at an additional expense to the tax payer. It is our duty to make sure we have the right details on the electoral register for every address in Wealden so everyone who is eligible, is given a chance to vote. Please help us by responding promptly.”
If you’re not currently registered to vote, your name will not appear on the form. There are 2 steps required to register to vote. Step 1 – visit www.householdresponse.com/wealden to tell us who lives at the property. Then Step 2 visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. In any case, you will still need to respond to the form.
It can be easy to slip off the electoral register if you move home. Research by the independent Electoral Commission indicates that recent home movers are far less likely to be registered than those that have lived at the same address for a long time. Across Great Britain, 96% of people who have been at their property for more than sixteen years will be registered compared to 27% of people who have lived at an address for less than one year.
“It’s really important that everyone who is entitled to vote is able to do so; checking the form that will arrive through the post is one of the easiest ways to find out if you are already registered,” said Melanie Davidson, Head of Support and Improvement at the Electoral Commission. “There’s lots of helpful information about registering to vote on our website www.yourvotematters.co.uk.”
Any residents who have any questions can contact their local registration team at elections@ wealden.gov.uk or 01892 602417
notes
The electoral register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in public elections. The register is used for electoral purposes, such as making sure only eligible people can vote. It is also used for other limited purposes specified in law, such as: detecting crime (e.g. fraud), calling people for jury service or checking credit applications.
The open register is an extract of the electoral register, but is not used for elections. It can be bought by any person, company or organisation. For example, it is used by businesses and charities to confirm name and address details. Your name and address will be included in the open register unless you ask for them to be removed. Removing your details from the open register does not affect your right to vote.
To be eligible to register to vote a person must be:
Aged 16 or over (a person may register to vote at 16, but may not vote until they are 18)
A British or qualifying Commonwealth citizen who has leave to enter and remain in the UK or does not require such leave.
A citizen of the Republic of Ireland or other European Union (EU) member state.
British citizens, Irish citizens and qualifying citizens of Commonwealth countries (including Cyprus and Malta), as well as citizens of other EU member states can vote in local government elections and Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales.
