Electoral Registration
Rolling Registration
The Register of Electors is compiled each October from information
supplied on registration forms sent to every household. The
'qualifying date' is 15 October each year so you should be
registered for wherever you are living on that date.
The Register of Electors comes into force on 1 December each
year and remains in force until 30 November the following
year.
To be included in the Register you must be:-
- Resident at an address in South Lakeland for more than six
months of the year, i.e. as a permanent resident
- Over 16 (although you cannot vote until your 18th
birthday)
- A British, Commonwealth or Irish Republic citizen
- A citizen of a member state of the European Union (as such you
can only vote in local elections and, upon application, European
Parliamentary Elections)
Students living away from home during term time can register
at both places but must only vote once at the same election.
The Register is also updated monthly so if your name has been
missed off the Register, or if you move during the year, you can
apply to be registered at any time. This is called rolling
registration.
Although it is compulsory to return the annual registration
form, you do not have to notify your Electoral Registration Officer
if you move during the year, but you would remain registered at
your previous address until the next Register is published.
In accordance with the Representation of the People Acts, any
application to be registered as an elector under the rolling
registration process is subject to public inspection to allow any
objections to be made. At the end of this public inspection
period, and if no objection is received, the applicant may be added
to the Register of Electors on the first working day of the
following month, depending on the date the application was
received.
Please remember that paying Council Tax does not mean that you are
automatically included on the Register of Electors. You must
register separately to be able to vote.
If you move house after the annual canvass or during the year
you can change your registration by contacting Electoral Services
for a form or by downloading the form below.
Please remember that telling Council Tax or other council
departments that you have moved will not change your entry on the
Register of Electors.
The Register of Electors lists everyone who is entitled to
vote. You can only vote in elections if your name is included
in the Register.
The Electoral Registration Officer compiles and keeps two
versions of the Register the Full Register and the Edited
Register.
Application to be included on the Register of Electors
House Rolling Registration Form (PDF, 140 Kb)
The Full Register
This includes the names and addresses of everyone registered
to vote. It can be checked by visiting South Lakeland
House.
Anyone can look at it but copies can only be supplied to
certain people and organisations and only for specified
purposes. These include electoral purposes, the prevention
and detection of crime, and checking a person's identity when
applying for credit.
The law states who can have a copy of the Full Register and
what it can be used for. The full list of persons and
purposes is given in the Representation of the People (England and
Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2002. It is a criminal offence
for them to pass it on to anyone else or to use it for any other
purpose.
The Edited Register
This leaves out the names and addresses of people who have
asked to be excluded from that version of the Register. The
Edited Register can be bought by anyone and they can use it for any
purpose.
If you do not want your name and address to appear on the
Edited Register you can say so on the annual registration form or
on any application to register.
If you do not receive a registration form during the annual
canvass, or you would like to register because you have moved house
or have been missed off the Register of Electors, please contact
Electoral Services in any of the following ways:
Contact Information
Phone: 0845 050 4434
Helpline no: 01539 797537 or 797535
Email:
elections@southlakeland.gov.uk
Post: Electoral Services, SLDC, South Lakeland House, Lowther
Street, Kendal, LA9 4UQ
Fax: 01539 740300