Electoral register

The electoral register is a list of the names and addresses of everyone who’s entitled to vote. You can only vote in an election if you’re on the register.

You are not automatically registered to vote, so you'll need to do this even if you use other council services. You can register online:

Annual canvass

The annual canvass makes sure that we can keep the electoral register up to date. It helps us identify any residents who are not registered to vote so that they can be encouraged to register.

Canvass forms, detailing who is currently registered to vote in each household, are sent out via email or post, from the beginning of July.

Data from Electoral Register is matched against government records. Households that match against this government database will not be required to respond unless there are changes to report.

Read your letter to check whether you need to respond or not. If you need to make any changes then you must let us know. You could be fined £1000 if you do not tell us about any changes.

The canvass has to be carried out by law. By telling us about any changes as soon as possible, the process will run smoothly and there'll be no need for a household visit from a canvasser.

If you need to make any changes

If you need to confirm information or make any changes you can:

• complete the form online using the security codes provided
• update the form and post it back to us, free of charge

If you have any questions about the canvass form or if you need to talk to us about your registration, you can contact us.

Opt out of the open version of the electoral register

When you register to vote, your name will appear on two versions of the register: the full version and the open version. The full version is used for elections, crime prevention and credit checking. The open version is designed for general sale and is used for marketing and other commercial purposes.

Everyone’s details appear on the full version, but you can have your name removed from the open version by choosing to opt out.

If you're still receiving marketing mail after you've removed your name from the open register, you can contact the Mailing Preference Service to stop this.
 

Find out if your name is on the register

To check if your name appears on the electoral register, you can contact us.

Publication of verification number

We're required by law to publish how many signatures of registered voters are required on a petition on whether we should change to a different form of governance.

Electors can petition the council to hold a referendum.  The petition must be signed by at least 5% of the registered electors for the district.

This figure is known as the verification number. The verification number for 28 February 2023 - 1 April 2024 is 9962.