Annual Canvass 2023
Each year the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) has a legal requirement to conduct an annual canvass. We will be carrying out a canvass of all properties to ensure that we have the correct people registered to vote at each property. It helps us identify any residents who are not registered to vote so that they can be encouraged to register.
How we will be contacting properties
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Canvass forms will be delivered between August and November this year. Some forms are being delivered by our canvassing team, others are being delivered by Royal Mail.
Every household will receive a form which will be addressed to The Resident. The canvass forms will provide details of who is currently registered to vote in each household.
Do you need to respond to the form?
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You'll only have to respond if:
- You're asked to do so
- You need to make any changes or additions to the information provided
Response required
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You can:
- Respond online: by completing our online form. You will be asked for your part 1 and part 2 of your security code, these codes are provided on your form.
or
- By post: update the form and post it back to us in the pre-paid envelope provided.
If all the details on the form are correct you can also respond by phone or text. You will be asked for your part 1 and part 2 of your security code, these codes are provided on your form.
If you do not reply
It is extremely important that if your form asks you to respond that you do this as quickly as possible. This means:
- It will save the Council money by not having to print and send required reminders.
- We will not have to send a canvasser to your property to gain the information required. We are legally required to do this for non-responding households.
If you do not provide the requested information you could be fined up to £1,000.
No response required
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If all the details on the form are correct and the form states that you are not required to respond then you do not need to respond.
If you need to make any changes
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If you need to add or remove someone from the property or make any other changes you can:
- Respond online: by completing our online form. You will be asked for your part 1 and part 2 of your security code, these codes are provided on your form.
or
- By post: update the form and post it back to us in the pre-paid envelope provided.
If you have recently moved house
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If you have recently moved house and registered for Council Tax your details will not be entered onto the electoral register automatically. You have to make a separate application to register to vote.
Registering to vote online is the quickest and easiest way.
New residents
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Any person who has been added to the form will also need to make a separate application to register to vote.
Registering to vote online is the quickest and easiest way.
Data protection
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We will only use the information you give us for electoral purposes. We will look after personal information securely and we will follow the data protection legislation. We will not give personal information about you or any personal information you may provide on other people to anyone else or another organisation unless we have to by law. View the Electoral Services Privacy Notice for more information.