Electoral Services privacy policy

Our contact details

Types of personal information we collect

We collect and process personal information for residents (voters) including:

  • name
  • address
  • date of birth
  • email address
  • nationality
  • National Insurance number
  • passport number (for overseas electors)
  • signature
  • open register preference.

We collect and process personal information for the returning officer or electoral registration officer including:

  • name
  • address
  • date of birth
  • National Insurance number
  • tax status
  • bank details
  • proof of eligibility to work in the UK.

We collect personal data for candidates, appointed agent or campaigner, including:

  • political affiliation
  • campaign group affiliation.

Other information needed for special electors or other electors, for example military service details include:

  • regiment
  • rank
  • service number
  • British Forces Postal Office (BFPO) addresses.

How we collect personal information and why we have it

Most personal information we process is provided to us by you for one of the following reasons:

  • Medway Council online query
  • Invitation to Register (IR) applications
  • documentary evidence (including Voter ID)
  • absent voting
  • annual canvass of households
  • registering to vote online 
  • applying for a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC).

This information is collected from either:

  • online application forms
  • paper application forms
  • emails
  • telephone calls
  • face to face discussions
  • door knocking canvassing.

We receive personal information indirectly from sources and scenarios including:

  • updating your household details during the annual canvass using our Electoral Management System (EMS) supplier
  • local data matching such as using other council sources like Council Tax records.

We use the information you have given to us to:

  • maintain the electoral register
  • run elections
  • employ casual staff to run elections 
  • monitor equality. 

The Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer is the data controller and collects the personal data you provide for the purpose of registering your right to vote. 

You need to be registered to vote in any election or referendum if you're eligible. We have a duty to maintain a complete and accurate register throughout the year. 

Sharing your information

The information you provide is held within the Electoral Registers and are managed by the Electoral Services Team. The council is required to keep a statutory register (commonly known as the Electoral Roll) which contains the names and addresses of those entitled to vote. There are 2 versions of the register:

  • the full register
  • the open register (also known as the edited register).

The full register contains names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in Medway. It's published once a year and updated each month. 

The full register is used for:

  • electoral purposes
  • preventing and detecting crime
  • calling people for jury summons
  • checking records against credit files. 

The full register can only be supplied to specific people as well as organisations including:

  • The British Library
  • UK Statistics Authority
  • The Electoral Commission
  • The Boundary Commission for England
  • Jury Central Summoning Bureau
  • elected representatives including MPs, MEPs and local councillors
  • Police and Crime Commissioner
  • candidates standing for elections and their agents
  • local and national political parties
  • other internal departments with Medway Council
  • parish and community councils
  • police forces and National Crime Agency
  • public libraries or local authority archive services
  • government departments and public bodies
  • credit reference agencies
  • National Fraud Initiative
  • electoral registration and returning officers.

We also share your information with our Electoral Management System (EMS) and our contracted printer to send out polling cards and postal vote packs. 

Anyone can inspect the full electoral register, however:

  • inspection of the register will be under supervision
  • those inspecting it may take extracts from the register but only in handwritten notes
  • information taken must not be used for direct marketing purposes in accordance with data protection legislation, unless it's been published in the open register.

Anyone who fails to observe these conditions is committing a criminal offence and may be fined up to £5,000. 

Lawful bases for processing data

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

  • contractual obligation - where the contract is in place with EMS and printers
  • legal obligation. The Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer is required to keep a record of your personal data to comply with the following acts, regulations and orders:
    • Local Government Act 1972
    • Representation of the People Act 1983
    • Representation of the People Act 1985
    • Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
    • Representation of the People Act 2000 (Schedule 4)
    • Local Government Act 2000
    • The Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (as amended)
    • European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) Regulations 2001
    • European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002
    • Electoral Administration Act 2006
    • Equality Act 2010
    • Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013
    • The Electoral Registration Act (Transition Provisions) Order 2013
    • The Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment and Description of Electoral Registers) Regulations 2013
    • The Representation of the People (Appointment of Proxies) Regulations 2013
    • The Representations of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment 2) Regulations 2014
    • The Representations of the People (Supply of Information) Regulations 2014
    • The Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2015
    • The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (Transitional Provisions) Order 2015
    • The Representations of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2015
    • The Representations of the People (Scotland) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2015
    • The Representations of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016
    • Data Protection Act 2018
    • The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018
    • The Elections Act 2022
    • Voter ID Identification Regulations 2022
    • The Representation of the People (Postal and Proxy Voting) (Amendment) Regulations 2023
    • Ballot Secrecy Act 2023
  • Public task - for example we need it to perform a public task. 

How we store your personal information

Your information is stored securely on our internal Electoral Management System.

The Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer and Returning Officer are Obliged to process your personal data in relation to preparing for and conducting elections.

Your details will be kept and updated in line with our legal obligations and statutory retention periods.