Electoral registration frequently asked questions

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about electoral registration. If you have any other questions please get in touch with the Elections Team using the contact details on the right.

What is the Register of Electors

The register of electors is a list of all the residents in the district who are eligible to vote in elections. It is compiled each year, following a canvass by post and personal visit of every household in the district during September to November and the new register is published on 1 December each year. The register is not a static document. At the beginning of January through to the following September, we update the register by adding the names of new applicants; by removing the names of electors who have died or moved away and by altering names, for example, where electors have married.

The full register of electors is a public document, but you can only inspect it as a paper copy under the supervision of electoral services staff at the council offices. You are only able to make hand-written notes of its contents which, by law, you will not be allowed to use for any direct marketing purposes.

By law, there are strict restrictions on who we can supply the full register to and in turn there are strict restrictions on the uses that they can make of it. The full register is supplied to the political parties, to elected representatives and election candidates, to law enforcement agencies and to credit reference agencies.

A second version of the register, the edited register of electors is also produced. It omits the names of those electors who have asked us to leave them out. About 45 per cent of our electors ask us to take their names off this version of the register. The edited register is available for inspection at the council offices. We can also sell this version to anybody.

Archive copies of the register, more than 15 years old, are not kept by this office. You will need to contact the Oxfordshire Archives, telephone 01865 398200 for archive copies of the register.

Who should register?

To be on our register, you will need to be:

  • Resident in the Vale on the relevant date - that is either on 15 October for the new register published on 1 December, or, if you move into our area and want to be added after 1 December, on the date you sign your application form
  • A British, Commonwealth or Irish Citizen or a citizen of a European Union Member State resident in the Vale
  • 16 or 17 years of age or over - you will be able to vote as soon as you are 18.

There are certain exceptions to the residency requirement. This is to help service personnel, British citizens living overseas and the homeless. More details can be found below.

Why should I register?

  • Every household is required by law to complete and return the annual registration form which is delivered to every home between August and October; failure to do so can carry a maximum fine of £1,000
  • If you are not on the register you will not be able to vote
  • Credit reference agencies are allowed to buy a copy of the full register to use for credit checking. If you are not on the register you are likely to have difficulties obtaining credit and opening a customer account
  • The register is used by the government to assess how much money is given to the council in the Revenue Support Grant and, of course, that affects the services that we are able to provide for you.

How do I register from December through to August?

You can download the application form from our How to register to vote web page or you can contact the Elections Team on 01235 540310 to request a form. Complete and return the form. Note that every applicant in your household will need to sign the form. If your form is completed correctly and no one objects to your name appearing on the register, you will be added to the register at the next monthly update and you will be sent a letter confirming your registration. There are mid-month deadlines laid down by law for the receipt of such an applications. For most applicants, this means that you will be added to the register within six weeks of your form being received by us.

There is no monthly update during September, October or November during the annual canvass period when all households have to register. A new Register is published on 1 December. If you have moved to the Vale, we will also tell the Elections Office of your old council area that you have moved so that your name can be taken off their register.

During an election period, there are special rules about adding names to the register. At such time, we need to receive an application on or before eleven working days before polling day.

I'm paying Council Tax - why am I not on the register?

It doesn't follow that because you are paying Council Tax you are also on the register of electors. The two systems are kept separate by law, not least to protect the integrity of the register of electors.

What should I do if a bank or credit agency has told me I'm not on the register?

Credit reference agencies are allowed to buy a copy of the full register to use for credit checking. They also buy copies of the monthly updates. If a bank or credit agency has told you that you are not on the register you should contact us. Firstly we will check the register ourselves and if needs be we will send you a voter registration form.

What should I do if my name has changed?

You may have changed the name you are known by either by marriage or by deed poll or by reversion to a former name. We can alter the register if you contact us with the information by letter, email or fax. We will write to you when the change has been made.

What should I do if someone moves out of my property?

Someone may have left your address, or a member of your household may have died. Again, we will amend the register if you contact us with the information by letter, email or fax. We receive a weekly report from the Registrar of Births and Deaths of all the deaths that take place within the Vale and we alter the register on the basis of that information.

How do students register?

Students can register at both their term time address and at their home address. It is emphasised that it is an offence to vote twice in the same elections. We recommend students to remain registered at their home address while they away studying. This is because students tend to move often.

How do European Union Citizens register?

If you are a citizen of another European Union state, then you are entitled to register in the United Kingdom. If you are registered you will be allowed to vote in all local elections and subject to our receiving a further application from you, you will also be entitled to vote in elections for the European Parliament. We write to all European Union citizens who are registered with us in advance of the elections for the European Parliament so that you can register to vote in those elections as well.

The same reciprocal arrangements are in place for British citizens who are living in another European Union state.

How do Service Voter or Crown Servants register?

If you are a member of the armed forces or the spouse of a service person you can register:

  • Either as an ordinary elector at your home address, using the monthly application form or the annual canvass form; or
  • If you do not want to disclose your address on the register, by completing an annual service declaration form.

We have a duty to remind people who use an annual service declaration form to re-register before their one year's registration comes to an end.

If you are a Crown Servant and or an employee of the British Council you can apply to be registered in much the same way. Your department should make forms available to you and the department should arrange for their transmission to us.

I am moving to live overseas - what should I do?

If you move to live abroad, you can keep your right to vote at UK Parliamentary elections and European Parliamentary elections for fifteen years, subject to your submitting an annual overseas elector application. You will be entitled to register at your last UK registration address or if you were too young to register when you moved, at the last UK registration address of your parents or guardians. The application form allows you to apply to vote by post or by proxy.

How do mental health patients, homeless people or prisoners on remand register?

There is a category of electors who are absent from their normal residence indefinitely and for a long term and there are those who do not have a home. Even so, the law acknowledges their right to be registered by allowing a "notional residence" being a place where they might normally be resident or with which they have a close association.

We can supply application forms to those mental health patients, homeless or prisoners on remand who have a "notional residence" in the Vale. If the applications are accepted, they will provide registration for 12 months.

How do people register anonymously?

In some very exceptional circumstances, some people may be able to register anonymously. Such cases might be where their personal circumstances or their work would place them at risk if their names were to appear on the register of electors, which is a public document.

The law only forsees this happening very exceptionally. Your application will have to be accompanied by an attestation signed by the Chief Constable of the Police or by a Director of Social Services, or it will need to be accompanied by a specific court order.

Last reviewed: 16 - 05 - 2012

Was this page helpful?YesNo