Electoral registration don't lose your vote

• Rolling registration
• Registering to vote
• Your ward and councillor(s)
• Deadlines for applications
• Keeping your voting rights when living abroad
• Postal voting
• Proxy voting

Rolling registration

You can now re-register to vote at the time you move house if you want to.

Please note that as the process takes a few weeks there may not always be time for you to re-register before a particular election. If this is the case, you will need to vote at your old polling station (where you will still be registered) or to arrange a postal vote (see below).

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Registering to vote

The initial Register of Electors is published on 1 December each year, and remains in use until 30 November the following year. In order to be included in the register you must:

• be resident at a qualifying address in the area, or have made a Service Declaration, Declaration of Local Connection or (for British citizens only) an Overseas Declaration;
• be a British or other Commonwealth citizen, or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or of another member state of the European Union;
• not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart);
• be aged 18 years or over during the year the register is in use;

The Electoral Registration Officer makes and keeps two versions of the electoral register, the full register and the edited register. The full register lists everyone who is entitled to vote. You can check it by visiting West Suffolk House in Bury St Edmunds. Only certain people and organisations can have copies of the full register, and they can only use it for specified purposes. These include electoral purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and checking your identity when you have applied for credit. The law says who can have a copy of the full register and what they can use it for. The edited register leaves out the names and addresses of people who have asked for their names to be excluded from it. The edited register can be bought by anyone who asks for a copy and they may use it for any purpose. To prevent your name appearing in the Edited Register, you should place a tick in the 'Edited Register' column when completing your registration form.

Download the Electoral Commission leaflet (PDF 112Kb) for more information.

Any application to be registered as an elector is subject to a five day period of public inspection to allow another elector to object to the application if they believe the person registering is not entitled to vote. If no objection is received after this period of inspection then your name will be added to the register from the first working day of the following month as long as your application was received by the deadline (see below).

Please note that you will only be able to vote at an election if your name has been added to the Register of Electors before the last day for the delivery of nomination papers for that election.

Please note that the deadline for registering before an election in order to be able to have a vote on election day is 11 working days.

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Your ward and councillor(s)

If you want to check which ward you are in or who your councillor(s) are visit Your councillors page.

Deadlines for applications:

When an election is called a new deadline of 11 working days before the election applies to the area where the election is taking place. The table below includes the 11 day deadline in April for those wanting to vote at the elections on 3 May.

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.

Download the voter registration form (PDF 143Kb)

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Keeping your voting rights when living abroad

If you are out of the UK for more than six months you need to register as an overseas elector if you want to retain your voting rights at UK parliamentary elections. To do this you need to fill in an Overseas Electors application form. You can download notes on how to make the application and the form to fill in from the links below. Completed forms should be returned to The Electoral Registration Officer, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 3YU. If you have any queries about completing the form email elections@stedsbc.gov.uk or phone 01284 757131.

Download:

• Overseas elector - how to fill in the application form (PDF 24Kb)
• Application to register as an overseas elector (PDF 106Kb)

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Postal voting

If you would find it more convenient to have your voting papers sent to you at home you can apply for a postal vote. A separate form needs to be completed for each person wanting to vote by post.

Postal votes are sent out between one and two weeks before an election, depending on when you make your application. The final deadline for applications is 5pm, six working days before the election.

The address for posting back applications is given on the form. Alternatively completed applications can be faxed to 01284 757130.

Download the Application to vote by post form (PDF 37Kb)

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Proxy voting

If you are unable to get to the polling station to vote in person and do not want to vote by post you can appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf . Unlike postal voting when you apply for a proxy vote you have to indicate why you are unable to vote in person. The deadline for new applications is the same as for postal voting, that is 5pm, six working days before the election. The address for posting back applications is given on the form. Alternatively completed applications can be faxed to 01284 757130.

Download the Application to vote by proxy form (PDF 32Kb)

For more information about registration and elections nationally visit the Electoral Commission's website.

For information on becoming a candidate visit: Candidates, nominations and eligibility

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