Register to Vote by April 20

To make your voice heard in May 7 General Election

The general election takes place on Thursday 7 May 2015.

To vote on 7 May not only do you need to be eligible, you also need to make sure you’re on the electoral register. The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 20 April 2015 but people are urged by Returning Officers and the Electoral Commission to register as soon as possible as there is no guarantee people will be registered in time to vote in the general election if they leave it until the deadline.

The English electoral registration system changed to a new system called Individual Electoral Registration in June last year. 

Previously, voter registration was done by household. One person in a household filled in a form and entered the details of everyone who lived at a property. The people who were eligible, were then registered to vote.

Most people who were already registered to vote prior to the change, were registered automatically under the new system, but some people weren’t matched against these records and therefore cannot be transferred automatically to the new register. For example, they may have moved home since the record was last updated, or there may be a difference in the spelling of the two records.

Hounslow Council has written to every household in the borough letting people know who is registered to vote at that address.  If you received a letter asking you to contact the council, please get in touch otherwise we can’t register you. The council has also written to approximately 8,000 people asking them to re-register because although they are currently on the register they are not registered under the new system. These electors will not be able to apply for a postal vote or proxy vote until they have become registered under the new system.  

If you’re unsure if you’re registered to vote, contact Hounslow’s Elections Team on elections@hounslow.gov.uk or 020 8583 2828.

From 1 April, every registered elector in Hounslow who is eligible to vote in the general election, will receive a poll card which provides details for how the elector can vote on polling day. If you don’t receive your poll card by 7 April, you’re probably not registered to vote and you should contact Hounslow’s Elections Team on elections@hounslow.gov.uk or 020 8583 2828 for advice.

To be eligible to vote in the general election you must be a registered elector who is:

• resident in the constituency

• not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart)

• British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen (qualifying means you have leave to enter or remain in the UK or do not require such leave)

• of voting age

Citizens of the European Union (apart from those who are British, Irish, Maltese or Cypriot) are not eligible to vote in UK parliamentary general elections

If voting in person at your local polling station is not convenient for you, you can choose to vote by post.

You can only vote by post or apply to vote by post if you’re registered to vote. Check to see if you’re registered well before 20 April 2015 if you want a postal vote.

You can have a permanent postal vote or you can have one just for this election.

Postal votes can be sent overseas, but you need to consider whether there will be enough time to receive and return your ballot paper by election day.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote for the first time or to amend an existing postal voting or proxy voting arrangement is Tuesday 21 April at 5pm.

To apply for a postal vote, complete this form http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/177408/Postal-vote-general.pdf and return it to Hounslow Electoral Services, Civic Centre, Lampton Road. Hounslow. TW3 4DN

If you are registered under the new system of Individual Electoral Registration by the time the register is published on 1 April 2015 and we had received your application to vote by post by Thursday 19 March, your postal vote will be dispatched around Friday 17 April.

If you lose your postal vote or do not receive it, a new one cannot be issued before Thursday 30 April 2015

The postal vote has to be with the Returning Officer by the close of poll (10pm) on polling day.

If you decide to vote by post you will not be able to vote at a polling station but you can hand your postal ballot paper into a polling station in your constituency.

In certain circumstances, you can appoint someone else to vote for you. This is called voting by proxy or a proxy vote, however you must have a valid reason for having a proxy vote such as a disability or working away.

You can have a permanent proxy or you can appoint a proxy for one election. If you make a permanent arrangement, you will need your doctor or employer to support your application. If you appoint a proxy for just one election, you do not need anyone to support your application.

The person you wish to appoint as your proxy can only act as proxy if they are registered individually for that election themselves.

If you would like to appoint a proxy to vote for you, download a form from http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/register-to-vote/apply-to-vote-by-proxy and return it toHounslow Electoral Services, Civic Centre, Lampton Road, Hounslow, TW3 4DN.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote for the first time is Tuesday 28 April at 5pm.

If you are taken ill or get unexpected work commitments after the deadline for applying for a proxy vote which prevents you from attending the polling station on election day, you can appoint a proxy to vote for you. Again, you will need a doctor or employer to support your application.

The deadline to apply for an emergency proxy for the general election is 5pm on 7 May 2015 day and you can only apply for one if you became ill or discovered that you would not be able to go to a polling station due to work commitments after 5pm on Tuesday 28 April.

March 30, 2015