How do I register to vote?
- Go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
- Fill in your name, address, date of birth and a few other details. You’ll also need your national insurance number, which can be found on your national insurance card, or in official paperwork such as payslips, or letters about benefits or tax credits.
- Look out for a confirmation to say you’re registered.
If you need any help, contact the electoral services helpline – 01282 477261 or 01282 477263 – staff will be able to help you.
Why should I register?
In order to vote at an election it is necessary to be on the Electoral Register. This is checked by the staff at the polling station and ballot papers are only issued to those people whose names appear on the register. There are no exceptions to this rule. You must confirm your details every year to vote.
- The information is required by law, any person failing to comply with the request for registration information or giving false information is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000
- If you are not on the register you cannot vote
- Banks, Building Societies, credit companies and large stores require potential customers to be on the Register of Electors before approving credit applications
You can register to vote if you are:
- living at an address in Burnley
- 16 years old or over (although please note that you will be only actually be able to vote once you are 18 years old or over)
- a British or Commonwealth citizen
- a citizen of the Irish Republic or other European Union state not otherwise disqualified from registration.
If you are unsure whether you are registered or are eligible to vote please ring the elections office on 01282 477261.
Electoral registration canvass
Every year a canvass of all residential properties in the borough is undertaken to make sure that everyone is registered to vote.
Before we start sending out correspondence for the annual canvass we will data match all individuals within households with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data as well as other local data sets such as council tax. We expect approximately 80% of households to match.
Matched households will receive a letter outlining the details of people registered at that property. If all the details on the letter are correct you DO NOT need to respond. If they have changed you should let us know by using the online service or by calling the helpline 01282 477261/477263 to make the changes.
Unmatched households (where there is not a FULL match of all the electors living in a household) will be sent a letter outlining the details of people registered at that property. The letter will tell you that you MUST RESPOND by using the online service or calling the helpline 01282 477261/477263 to make any changes or to confirm that the information is correct. Please respond as soon as possible as we are required to chase up non responders from unmatched households.
It is important that if there are any changes you tell us so that we can make sure you are able to vote. Not being registered to vote may also affect your credit score.
Adding someone to the canvass form, making changes via the online service or calling the helpline does not mean that a person is registered to vote. You are only confirming the names of the people living at the property. All new electors have also to register individually online. If no online application is made a form will be posted out.
The electoral register is a list of all names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in Burnley. The revised electoral register will be published annually on 1st December.