Many young people not registered to vote - but there's still time

Young people aged 17 or 18 are being urged to register to vote in time for the General Election on 8th June.

New figures just released by the Electoral Reform Society show that the proportion of school leavers on the electoral roll dropped by over a quarter between 2013 and 2016 – with most of these missing voters now eligible to vote in this election. Shockingly, in one parliamentary constituency 75% of young people are not on the voting register. This follows the change from registration by household, to each voter having to register individually.

Claire Young, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Thornbury and Yate parliamentary consituency, said:

"This election is about the type of country we want to live in, a chance to change Britain's future. Young people will be living with the results for many years to come. It's vital that they get a say in that future"

"Whatever your age, if you haven't already registered, you need to do so before 11:59pm on 22 May if you want to be able to vote in the General Election on 8 June. You can do it online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote - you may need to have your National Insurance number at hand to prove who you are"

Are YOU registered to vote?

The way we register to vote has changed and with the General Election and local elections in May you should make sure you’re registered.

You can register to vote here – it takes about five minutes. You'll need to have your National Insurance number handy, if you have one. That's all there is to it.

The same page has a link to instructions for registering by post, if you prefer this.

Don't lose your vote

By the end of this month, you should receive a letter from South Glos Council telling you if you need to take action to join the new Electoral Register.

Most people who are currently registered have been added to the new register automatically, and the letter will let you know if this applies to you. Some people have not been added to the new register automatically and these people will need to re-register. The letter will tell you if you are in this group, and what you need to do to re-register.

The letters are a result of a new registration system called Individual Electoral Registration (IER). The aim is to modernise the way people register to vote and help tackle electoral fraud. You may need to take action to join the new individual electoral register, even if you are currently registered to vote.

Under the new system:

• everyone is responsible for registering themselves (under the old system the ‘head of household’ could register everyone who lived at their address) 
• you can now register online 
• you need to provide a few more details to register (your national insurance number and date of birth). This is to make the electoral register more secure. These details are checked against government records to help make sure that registrations are genuine. 

If you're not on the electoral register, you won't be able to vote in next year's elections. You could also be at risk of an £80 fine if you don't respond to requests for information from the council and you need to be registered to apply for credit, as credit reference agencies use the register to prevent fraud.

If you are a South Gloucestershire resident and you haven’t received a registration letter by the end of August then please contact the electoral services team by calling 01454 863030 or by emailing electoral.services@southglos.gov.uk If you need to register or re-register please visit www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

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Still time to register to vote or apply for a postal vote

There is still time to register to vote or apply for a postal vote for the local elections on 5th May.

Registering to vote

To vote, you must be on the electoral register. If you have moved in since 15 October last year, you will need to re-register at your new address to be able to vote there. If you are unsure if you are registered to vote please contact the helpline on 01454 863030.  The deadline for applications to vote at these elections is 5pm on the 14th April 2011 but it's best to make sure you are registered as early as possible.You can download the form from the South Glos website.

Voting by Post or Proxy 
 
If you want to apply to vote by post, or want to change your existing postal or proxy voting arrangements, the deadline for South Glos to receive your form is 5pm on 14th April. New proxy voting applications can be received up until 5pm on the 21 April. Download the postal or proxy forms from the South Glos website.

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