What is the register of electors?
Who should register?
Why should I register?
How do I register?
How can I check that I am registered?
If may name is not on the register, how do I apply?
Changed name, got married or errors?
What about young people?
Can I register if I am a remand prisoner, mental patient or homeless?
Can I register if I move overseas?
Can I register to vote in Euro elections?
Can I vote by post?
Can I vote by proxy?
Who can vote at elections?
How do I vote?
What assistance is available to vote?
How often are elections held?
Electronic voting, All postal votes etc?
Is it a secret ballot?

For further information

Visit or write to : Town Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire Telephone: 01629 761335 Fax: 01629 761133 E:mail electoral@derbyshiredales.gov.uk

Useful contact:

Electoral Commission, 1st floor Trevelyan House, Great Peter Street, LONDON  SW1P 2HW
E:mail: info@electoralcommission.org.uk 
Telephone: 0207 2710500
Fax: 0207 2710505

Certain documents are available in electronic audio, Braille, large print and in other languages on request. Please let us know if you would like to receive documents in an alternative format.

What is the register of electors?

The register is:

• A list of voters' names and addresses
• A rolling register – if you move house you can register at your new address
• In force from 1 December each year

Who should register to vote?

Entitlement to register is no longer based on residence on a single annual qualifying date.

Residents who are:

• British, Commonwealth, or Irish citizens or citizens of other European Union Member States
• 16 or 17 years of age or over now

-should register to vote.

Why should I register?

• The information is required by law
• If you are not on the register you cannot vote
• Credit reference agencies use the register when assessing credit worthiness. Anyone not on the register may experience difficulties opening bank accounts or getting a mortgage.

How do I register?

An annual canvass is carried out each year by reference to residence on 15 October. This means that the register is completely updated each year. Every household is sent a form to complete. This is done so that we can find out who is entitled to be included in the register of electors at each address. Completion of this form is compulsory.  In September 2005 residents in the Derbyshire Dales will be able to renew their registration to vote over the telephone or Internet.  The form sent to all households will explain how to do this.

Separate arrangements are made to register members of HM forces; Crown Servants living abroad; Overseas electors ie British Citizens living abroad; people with no fixed address in the area; patients in mental hospitals; and prisoners on remand.

Anyone moving into the Dales can register for their new address at any time during the year, through the “rolling registration” procedure by completing a claim form. Similarly anyone moving out of the area can contact the council for the area they are moving into and register there. New residents to the Dales are automatically sent electoral forms on registering for Council Tax.

Application form is available here for you to print.

How can I check whether my name is included in the register of electors?

The full version of the register that is published on 1 December each year is available for inspection at the Town Hall, Matlock; Council Offices, Bath Street, Bakewell; Compton Offices, Ashbourne and Cash Office, Town Hall, Wirksworth during normal office hours. Or you can ring Electoral Services who will check the register for you.

If your name is not on the register you can complete a Voter Registration Form.  Fill the form in and return it by post, hand or fax. We need a signature from you. If your form is completed correctly and no-one objects to your name appearing on the register for that address you will be told that you have been accepted on to the register. All applications to be registered as an elector are subject to public inspection to allow objections to be made in accordance with the Representation of the People Acts. Due to this process it can take from between 3 and 7 weeks to deal with an individual application. You will be kept informed of what is happening and when at each stage. We will also tell the Electoral Registration Officer for your old address that you can be removed from that Register if this is applicable. Please note that there are special rules about names being added to the voters list during an elections. This may mean that if your name is added to the register during an election period you may not be able to vote at that election.

Changed your name? Got married? Wrong spelling, Errors?

If you write, e:mail or fax your details – we can change the Register of Electors for you and confirm the change.

What about young people?

Statistics show that young people have become increasingly disenchanted with participating in the democratic process. If young people opt out of the system and don’t register to vote how can councillors and MPs represent their needs and concerns.

Any 16/17 year old, who will become 18 on or before 1 December 2005, should check to see if they are already on the register and if not complete a claim form. These young people will be 18 before the register expires, and may vote if they are 18 at the time of an election. Students should register at their home address and at their college or university address. It is not an offence to be registered twice, but they may vote only once at the same election.

Does my name and address have to appear on the electoral register?

The names and address of all electors that are registered to vote are printed on the published version of the electoral register. The only exception to this is where to allow public scrutiny of the list would threaten an elector’s safety. In this instance electors can choose to register to vote through a process known as anonymous registration. An individual application form has to be completed each year, stating the reason for the application and providing evidence as to suitability by way of court document or attestation from a qualified person.

How can I register to vote if I am a remand prisoner, mental patient or homeless?

A new concept of notional residence has been introduced. A declaration may be made at any point in the year, and will be valid for up to 12 months from the date of entry in the register, but may be cancelled at any time by the declarant.

Homeless people may register at the address of a place where they spend a substantial part of their time. Voluntary or detained patients and a remand prisoners may register at the institution where they are currently resident; or the address at which they would be living (or have previously lived).

Can I register if I move overseas?

Many British Citizens living abroad have the right to vote at parliamentary and European Parliamentary elections held in the UK. This does not include local elections. You can register as an overseas elector at any time during the year. The registration must be renewed annually, but can be cancelled at anytime.

The Treaty on the European Union (Maastricth 1992), created citizenship of the European Union. All nationals of Member States are also citizens of the Union, and are entitled to vote at Local Government and European Parliamentary elections in their member state of residence. Citizens of other European Member States ie Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, can vote at local council elections. Names of EU citizens are entered on the households annual canvass form. EU citizens can also choose to vote at European Parliamentary elections. To do this, a separate form needs to be completed. You may be asked to provide evidence of nationality and will be asked to confirm that you only intend to exercise your right to vote in the UK.

Can I vote by post?

Many people find voting by post more convenient. New rules mean that anyone can vote by post. You can choose to vote by post permanently or for a specific period or specific election. Please remember that the closing date for new postal and proxy applications is 6 working days before polling day. If you choose to vote by post your ballot paper will be sent to you 1 week before polling day.

• You will need to mark your ballot paper in the normal way
• Complete the declaration of identity – this need to be witnessed
• Return the paperwork before the close of poll

Download a form from About My Vote.

Can I Vote by Proxy?

If you would like someone to vote as your proxy, you need to choose a person you trust who will be willing to go to your polling station and vote for you in the normal way.

You can have a proxy vote if:

• You are registered blind
• You receive the higher rate of the disability living allowance
• You suffer from a physical incapacity
• Employment, service, occupation
• Attendance on an educational course
• If your application is for a particular election only you will be required to specify why you cannot get to the polling station

Application form is available here for you to print.

Remember that the closing date for a proxy vote application is 6 working before polling day.

Who can vote at elections?

Only those persons whose names appear on the register of electors can vote.

To vote at Parliamentary or local elections (district, parish and county), a person must also:

• Be eighteen years of age on polling day
• Be British, Commonwealth or Irish Citizen and other European Union Citizen* (*special rules apply)

How do I vote?

If you are on the Register, you should receive a poll card before the election date. Your card tells you when to vote, and where. It also tells you what to do once you are inside the polling station. The polling card is only sent to you for information. So don’t worry if you lose it or forget it you can still vote without it.

At the polling station tell the clerk your name and address. The officer in charge at the station will give you a ballot paper. Go to one of the polling booths (in many stations booths are provided that have been adapted for disabled people). Mark a cross on the right hand side of the ballot paper opposite the candidate(s) you are voting for. The ballot paper tells you how many candidates you may vote for. Put not other mark on the ballot paper or your vote may not be counted. If you spoil your ballot paper you can ask for another one. Then fold the ballot paper in two and put it in the ballot box.

If you have appointed a proxy to vote in person for you, you may vote yourself but only if you do so before your proxy has voted on your behalf.

If you have been granted a postal vote you will not be able to vote in person.

What assistance is available to vote?

• Large print ballot papers are displayed
• High visibility slots on ballot boxes
• Polling booths for disabled
• Access for the disabled at most sites
• Provision for assisting people with physical disability
• Magnifying glasses
• Braille device to assist the blind or partially sighted to vote unaided

Electronic Voting, All Postal Ballots and Pilot Schemes

Several councils have taken place in election pilot schemes to trial new methods of voting with the aim of increasing voter turnout. Schemes have included:-

• Internet voting
• Text messaging
• Digital TV
• All postal voting
• Weekend Voting
• Early voting

Further information about these initiatives is at www.electoralcommission.gov.uk

How often are elections held?

UK Parliamentary Elections :The maximum period allowed between UK parliamentary elections is five years. There is not statutory minimum period. The last UK Parliamentary Election was held on 5 May 2005.European Parliamentary Elections

Elections to the European Parliament are held every five years. The last election was held on 10 June 2004. Derbyshire Dales is included in the East Midlands Regional Constituency which returns six MEPs. The East Midlands Region consists of the county areas of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, and Rutland.