Residents in West Suffolk urged to check voter registration details

West Suffolk residents are being urged to check their electoral registration details or risk losing their chance to vote on decisions that affect them.

West Suffolk Council is responsible for voter registration and administers all elections and referendums in the district.

The annual canvass, which is a legal requirement, allows West Suffolk Council to keep the electoral register up to date, to identify who risks losing their voice at elections, and to encourage them to register before it’s too late. The Suffolk County Council election will be the next scheduled election in May 2025.

The council will be contacting households by email and text messages, where this information has been supplied by electors. Postal forms will be sent to households where this information is not held. Personal visits to non-responding households will then take place.

Gerald Kelly, cabinet member for Governance and Regulatory at the council, said: “We are asking residents to keep an eye out for our annual canvass communications, so we can make sure we have the right details on the electoral register.

“The annual canvass is part of our duty to make sure that the information on the electoral register for every address is accurate and up to date. To make sure you don’t lose your say, please make sure you provide the necessary information when it is needed which will ensure the process runs smoothly.

“The communication may be an email, text or posted form, depending on the information you have supplied and includes a unique code that allows you to go online to securely check and update your details.

“This method has worked well in past years. It is secure, it makes it easier for people to respond and register as well as making the system more efficient, saving money for taxpayers.”

If you’re not currently registered, your name will not appear in the messages we send. If you want to register, the easiest way is online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.”

Recent home movers in particular are urged to check their details. Electoral Commission research has found that recent home movers are less likely to be registered than those who have lived at the same address for a long time.

In Great Britain, 92 per cent of those who have lived in their home for 16 years will be registered, compared with 36 per cent of people who have lived at an address for less than a year.

Melanie Davidson, head of Support and Improvement at the Electoral Commission, said: “It’s really important that everyone who is eligible to vote is able to do so. We urge people to check for updates from their local council on this year’s canvass. The council may contact residents by post or email.

“If you are not registered to vote, make sure you provide the necessary information to your local council when asked and register to vote online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.”

To be eligible to register to vote a person must be:

• aged 16 or over (a person may register to vote at 16, but may not vote until they are 18);
• a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen who has leave to enter and remain in the UK or does not require such leave;
• A European Union (EU) citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, or Spain who has permission to enter and remain in the UK or does not require such permission;
• A EU citizen of any other EU country who on or before December 31, 2020, had permission to enter and remain in the UK or did not require such permission, and this has continued without a break

Information on registering to vote is available on the Electoral Commission website: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections

Residents with questions about their electoral registration status can contact West Suffolk Council’s Electoral Services team at: elections@westsuffolk.gov.uk.