News

Moving House could cost you your general election vote

23 March 2010

With a general election only weeks away, thousands of people across Great Britain, who have moved house, risk losing their chance to vote by not being on the electoral register. The warning comes from independent elections watchdog, the Electoral Commission.

“Moving house could cost you your vote unless you act now,” cautions Jenny Watson, Chair of the Electoral Commission. “Our research found that in some parts of Britain, only one in five people living at their present address for a year or less are actually registered to vote. But there is still time before the general election and registering is quick and easy: go to about my vote, and print off a registration form.”

Local authorities in Great Britain update their electoral registers each autumn which means that by the time elections take place in spring and summer, thousands of people are living at a different address from the one at which they registered to vote. 

New research by the Electoral Commission has found that almost one in four people (23%) wrongly think that if you pay council tax you are automatically put on the electoral register.
 
“If you are not on the register, you can’t vote, it’s as simple as that”, says Jenny Watson.  “I’d encourage everyone to take a few minutes now to secure their vote.”

/ends

Notes to editors

1. An estimated 2,830,520 households in Great Britain move house in a given year (source: 2007/8 Survey of English Housing; Living in Wales 2008 sample survey, and Scottish Household Survey 2008).  According to the Office of National Statistics, there are an average of 1.8 adults living in each household (although this does not mean that each of these adults is eligible to vote - see Note 2 below).

2. You can register to vote a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen. You can also register if you are an EU citizen resident in the UK. EU citizens are eligible to vote in local elections but not at a UK Parliamentary general election.  British citizens living abroad can also register to vote as long as they have been on the electoral register at a UK address no more than 15 years ago.  There are also special provisions for those serving abroad to vote – for more information, go to about my vote .

3. For Electoral Commission’s research – The completeness and accuracy of the electoral register in Great Britain – published on 3 March 2010, on groups not registered to vote, click here .

4. A survey carried out by YouGov and commissioned by the Electoral Commission found that 23% of people thought that ‘if you pay council tax you are automatically on the electoral registe’r. The GB sample size was 2376 and the fieldwork was carried out from March 5 to 8.

5. The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the UK’s democratic process. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections.

For further information, election-related photographs or to arrange an interview (the Commission has an ISDN line), contact the Electoral Commission press office on 0207 271 0704 or Pagoda PR on 0131 556 0770.  Email press@electoralcommission.org.uk

Out of hours, please contact the Electoral Commission press office on 07789 7271 0704