London,
06
November
2015
|
14:26
Europe/London

Are you sure you’re registered to vote?

Last year the government introduced Individual Electoral Registration (IER) which means that everyone eligible to vote needs to register themselves – rather than this being the head of household’s responsibility. Voters who were previously registered under the old system have remained on the register during the transition period to the new system, however anyone who hasn’t registered under IER by 1 December 2015 will now be removed from the electoral register.

People who have moved house recently and those who rent privately are far less likely to be registered than those that have lived at the same address for a long time. However many of these people may be unaware that they are not on the register. In fact, 44% of people who aren’t registered to vote incorrectly believe that they are.

How to register

You will have received a Household Enquiry Form in the post telling you who is currently registered under the new system. Those properties that have no registered voters will have received a blank form.

To make sure you are able to have your say at the elections next year, simply add any names to the form that are missing, delete those of people who no longer live at your address and return the form to us as promptly as possible. We’ll then send you information explaining how to register, or you can just go online and register at gov.uk/register-to-vote – you’ll just need your national insurance number and date of birth.

It’s particularly important that anyone who has moved address recently looks out for this form and checks whether they are registered.

If you’re not sure whether you’re registered to vote, you can find out by contacting the elections team at [email protected] or by phone on 0207 974 6000.