The Lancaster district’s annual electoral canvass is underway and residents are being urged to make sure their details are up to date so they don’t lose their right to vote.
Each year Lancaster City Council is required by law to canvass every household in the district and produce a Register of Electors.
As part of this process, anyone who has provided the council with an email address may have recently received an email to check their household details.
Councils have to do this each year to make sure that everyone who has the right to vote can have a voice at elections.
The email, which will be sent from lancaster@householdresponse.com, will contain details of what to do.
If the council doesn’t hold an email address for you, or if you don’t respond to the email, a canvass letter will be posted to you explaining the steps that need to be taken.
The form will contain details of all those in the household who are registered to vote. Where a property has no registered electors, the form will be blank.
The easiest way to respond is by using the online response form, by following the instructions on your letter.
Mark Davies, Returning Officer at Lancaster City Council, said: “It’s really important that residents double check their details are correct, updating if necessary, so they don’t lose the opportunity to make their voice heard at election time, particularly when we know there will be a UK General Election before January 2025.
“We’ve tried to make it as quick and easy as possible to respond and it should only take a few minutes. If you don’t then we have to conduct a personal visit, so I’d urge everyone to take action as soon as they receive a communication from us, be that via email or letter."
Being on the electoral register is not only about being able to vote - it can boost your credit score and make it easier to apply for a mobile phone contract or a mortgage.
Being a council tax payer does not mean you are automatically registered to vote. The process for registering to vote is separate.
If you have just moved in to your property and the information on the form isn’t correct, go online to respond to the letter then visit www.gov.uk/registertovote to register.
If any new people have been added to a household enquiry form, they must apply to register to vote themselves. They can go online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or they will be sent an invitation to register form through the post to be completed and returned.
Online applications take a couple of minutes to do, but in both cases the applicant will need their National Insurance number in order to fully complete the application.
Anyone with questions about their registration status can contact the council’s elections team on elections@lancaster.gov.uk or call 01524 582905.
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