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Elections and registration

Police and Crime Commissioner elections: 15 November 2012

The elections for the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent and Medway took place on Thursday, 15 November 2012.

Visit www.kentparo.org.uk. for the election results.

Download the Police and Crime Commissioner election verification statement (pdf 7KB) showing the electorate and turn out figure for Medway. To download a pdf you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have it on your computer, please use our advice page.

 

Please note: There are no local elections scheduled to take place in Medway in 2013. Elections to the European Parliament are Medway's next scheduled elections, and these will take place in 2014.

Register of Electors 2013

Electoral canvassers will be making personal visits to some properties in Medway throughout March, to collect residents' electoral registration details. They will be calling at properties where no response was received during last autumn's annual canvass, to confirm whether the details we hold are still correct or to update elector details where relevant. 

What is the register?

The Electoral Register is a list of people eligible to vote in elections within Medway. The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) has a statutory duty to compile the register and keep it up-to-date by carrying out an annual canvass of households usually from September to November.

A revised register is usually published by 1 December each year.

Full and Edited register

There are two types of register: the full and edited versions. You will be asked whether you want to be included in the Edited register when you complete your registration form.

Who can register?

To go on the electoral register you must be:

You must not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote.

Citizens of EU member states other than British or Irish are only eligible to vote in local government elections.

How to register

To request an electoral registration form please contact the Electoral Services team on 01634 332030 or via email electoralservices@medway.gov.uk

Alternatively you can download and print an electoral registration form from The Electoral Commission website About My Vote

Timetable for adding names to the 2013 register

Form received by Date added to register
Thursday, 7 February 2013 Friday, 1 March 2013
Monday, 11 March 2013 Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Tuesday, 9 April 2013 Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Friday, 10 May 2013 Monday, 3 June 2013
Friday, 7 June 2013 Monday, 1 July 2013
Wednesday, 10 July 2013 Thursday, 1 August 2013
Friday, 9 August 2013 Monday, 2 September 2013
Monday, 9 September 2013 Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Thursday, 10 October 2013 Friday, 1 November 2013
Friday, 8 November 2013 Monday, 2 December 2013

Annual audit

The revised register for 2013 was published on Tuesday, 16 October 2012.

You are required by law to respond each year regardless of changes or not. The ERO has to write to everyone every year to confirm who lives at each property, even if the council has other information about you on its files.

You are asked to include all eligible residents and inform us of any changes; for example, residents may have moved out, or married and changed their name.

If there are no changes to be made your details can be confirmed by telephone or via the internet, using the details printed on the registration form sent to you.

If you fail to respond to to the first form a personal canvasser will be sent to try to get the details from you.

Please be aware, this costs money which affects the level of council tax, so you can save money by responding to the first form using the methods mentioned above. We  are not allowed by law to carry forward any information so if you do not register for more then one year your details may not be on the register.

This means:

  • You lose your right to vote.
  • You may encounter problems when opening a bank account or obtaining credit.

Once the register is published on 16 October, it is updated monthly and there is a cut-off date each month for the return of the form. If your form is received after the date, your details will be included in the next months' updates. These dates are set by law so there is no flexibility to change them or accept late forms. You will receive a letter confirming that your details have been added to the register.

The Credit Reference reference agencies are supplied with copy of the register when it is published and the subsequent monthly alterations. However we do not know how long  it takes for your details to appear on their records once you have been added to the register.

Where to register and what address to register at?

You should register at your main address.

If you have moved to a residential home, then that would be your main address.

If you live an equal amount of time in two properties e.g. you are a student, you can register at both but you must not vote more than once in the same election. This means that you can vote in local elections at both addresses as long as they are in different local authority areas but you cannot vote at both addresses in a parliamentary election.

If you spend more time at one property than the other, you should register at the one where you spend most time. On the voter registration form for the address where you spend less time, you should tick the box at the bottom of the form for "registered elsewhere".

If you are temporarily living in a rented house, you should continue to register at your main address. Please make sure that your mail is suitably redirected so that you receive all relevant correspondence from the council.

How does the register relate to council tax?

The council tax register is quite separate, so paying council tax does not mean that you will automatically be on the Electoral Register.

HM Armed Forces

If you are in the armed forces, you can register by means of a service declaration or choose to register as an ordinary elector as above instead. You may need to appoint a proxy or ask for a postal vote if you are unlikely to be in the UK when an election is called.

Crown Servants

If you are a Crown Servant or British Council employee and posted overseas, both you and your spouse or civil partner are entitled to register by way of making a service declaration. Applicants must be living outside of the United Kingdom to register in this way. Please contact Electoral Services to get the relevant form and advice.

The declaration must be submitted via the relevant government department or British Council office. 

Overseas

If you are a British citizen and currently reside overseas you can still register if you satisfy the  criteria. You will have to have been on a UK electoral register at any time within the past 15 years. You cannot register if you have never been registered as an elector in the UK. However, if you left the UK before you were 18 years of age, you can register at your parents’ or guardians’ address, if you left the country no more than 15 years ago. Please contact Electoral Services to get the relevant form and advice. You will probably need to arrange to appoint a proxy who will vote on your behalf or you could apply for a postal vote. But be aware that postal votes can be sent out as late as six working days before an election, so there may not be enough time for it to reach you in time for you to complete and return it. 

Local connection

A declaration of local connection relates to a person who gives a property at which they have resided or would but for their circumstances. For example, the homeless may register at the address at which they commonly spent a substantial part of their time either day or night, by making a "declaration of local connection".

In order to register by way of local connection, please contact the Electoral Services team for an application and any additional information you may require.

Anonymous registration

There is a provision in law that enables individuals to register anonymously under certain circumstances.

Please contact Electoral Services for more information on how to register anonymously. Please note that an application to register anonymously has to be signed by a senior police officer or the Director of Children or Adult services. However be aware that the register is a public document, it is published in address order, and by each of the three parliamentary constituencies. It is difficult therefore to be traced if your actual address is unknown. We do not provide a search service for third parties.

Absent voting

Find out how to apply for a postal or proxy vote on a temporary or permanent basis.

For more information contact Electoral Services by telephone: 01634 332030 or by email: electoralservices@medway.gov.uk

Write to: Electoral Services, Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent ME4 4TR

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