Welcome To Wirral

If you cannot find the information you are looking for, please contact us on 0151 691 8046.

1. How to contact Electoral Services
2. What is the Electoral Register?
3. Who can register to Vote?
4. Students
5. How do I register to Vote?
6. When can I register to Vote? - Annual Canvass
7. When can I register to Vote? - Rolling Register
8. Who has my personal details?
9. Why can't I get credit?
10. Can I use the Electoral Register to look for a lost relative?
11. Inspecting the Register of Electors
12. Register of Electors - where copies are located
13. Useful Links

How to contact Electoral Services

We can be contacted in the following ways:-

By post:
Electoral Services
Town Hall
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH44 8ED

Enquire at One Stop Shop reception
Telephone (0151) 691 8046
Email: electoral@wirral.gov.uk

What is the Electoral Register?

The Electoral Register is the list of everyone who is registered to vote. You must be on the register to vote in elections and referendums. You are not automatically registered, even if you pay Council Tax.

Who can register to Vote?

• Anyone aged 16 or over (but you cannot vote until you are 18) Entrants under 18 will have their birthday recorded and will receive a birthday card on their 18th birthday, which will explain their voting rights.
• Those who normally live in your household but are away for the time being - for example on holiday, as students, or in hospital (including voluntary patients in psychiatric hospitals).
• Anyone who is away working, unless they are away for more than six months.
• Any other residents, lodgers or guests (but not short-stay visitors) in your household, whether this is a private address, a hostel or a club.
• British citizens living abroad can be registered for up to 15 years after they last appeared on a register in the UK.
• Members of the Armed Forces, Crown Servants, etc. and their partners must register annually, but can do so as 'Service' etc. voters or as ordinary voters.
• British or Commonwealth Citizens
• Citizens of the Republic of Ireland or other European Union (EU) countries

British citizens, Irish citizens and citizens of Commonwealth countries (including Cyprus and Malta) can vote at all elections.

Citizens of other EU countries can vote in local government elections but cannot vote in UK Parliamentary elections. If you are an EU citizen and want to vote in European Parliamentary elections, you must fill in a separate form. Contact your Electoral Services office to ask for one.

• Commonwealth Citizens

Antingua & Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji Islands, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong.

• European Union

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal.

Students

Students are entitled to register at their home address and their university address. Although it is an offence to vote more than once in a national election, you can vote in local elections at both addresses.

How do I register to Vote?

To register to vote, a voter registration form must be completed, contact us on 0151 691 8046. Please send your completed application form to

Electoral Services
Town Hall
Brighton Street
Wallasey
CH44 8ED

When can I register to Vote? - Annual Canvass

A voter registration form is sent to every household during late August every year. The register of electors will be compiled from this information, which is re-published on 1 December each year.

The registration forms during the canvass are 'household' forms, where all those living in the house/flat can put their names on the same form.

British, British Commonwealth, Irish and European Union citizens must register to vote at the address at which they normally reside on 15 October.

You must supply the information asked for. If you do not, or you give false information, you may be fined up to £1000.

When can I register to Vote? - Rolling Register

Moved Home? Coming up to 18? Change of Name? Just not on the Register?

We can add names to the register throughout the year (except 1 September - 30 November), all you have to do is fill in a voter registration form.

When you send us your completed form, we will add you to our list of new applications. Any elector can then object to your name being added to the register. If this happens, we will write to you.

If your application is not objected to, we will change your details within 7 weeks of receiving your form. We will send you a letter of confirmation when your name has been added to the register.

 

If we get your form on or before…	Your details will be changed on…
Friday, 8th February 2008	Monday, 3rd March 2008
Monday, 10th March 2008	Tuesday, 1st April 2008
Wednesday, 16th April 2008	Thursday, 24th April 2008
Friday, 9th May 2008	Monday, 2nd June 2008
Monday, 9th June 2008	Tuesday, 1st July 2008
Thursday, 10th July 2008	Friday, 1st August 2008
Friday, 8th August 2008	Monday, 1st September 2008
There are no monthly updates during September, October or November as all households have to register during the annual canvass period. A new Register is published on 1st December.

We will also tell the Electoral Services Officer from your previous address that you have moved, so that your name can be removed from that register. People who live at two homes (including students) are allowed to register at both. If you do not want to be removed from your other address, please explain why on your form.

There are special rules about names being added to the voters list during an election period. Because of these you may not be able to vote at that election if you are added during this time.

Who has my personal details?

There are two versions of the register - the full version and the edited version. The full register is used for elections and referendums, preventing and detecting crime, and checking applications for credit. The edited register is available for general sale and can be used for commercial activities such as marketing.

Your details will appear on the full version of the register, but you can choose whether or not your details appear on the edited register.

Why can't I get credit?

If you have been denied credit because your bank or credit reference agency are unable to verify your details on the electoral register, this is because the electoral register is often used for credit referencing purposes to counteract fraud.

If you are included in the Register of Electors, Electoral Services will confirm this information on the telephone. If the company concerned requires written confirmation that you are on the current register of electors please contact your local One Stop Shop who can provide a letter of confirmation for a fee of £10.

Can I use the Electoral Register to look for a lost relative?

The register is listed in address order, so it is not possible to find a person's address simply by looking up their name.

Inspecting the Register of Electors

Please note that in accordance with the Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002, the following rules apply to persons inspecting the Register of Electors:-

• The Register is open to public inspection, under supervision
• Extracts from the Register may be recorded only by making hand written notes. Photocopying or electronic recording are not permitted by law
• Information taken from the Register must not be used for direct marketing purposes (as per section 11(3) of the Data Protection Act 1998), unless the information has been published in the edited version of the register.

Under the Regulations referred to above, anyone who fails to observe these conditions is committing a criminal offence. The penalty is a fine of up to level 5 (currently £5000).

Register of Electors - where copies are located

A list of places where you can view the register is available here

Useful Links

The Electoral Commission

An independent body set up by the UK Parliament in 2000. Who are independent of the Government and political parties and are directly accountable to Parliament through a committee chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Boundary Commission

The Boundary Commission for England is an advisory Non-Departmental Public Body funded by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The Commission are required by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (as amended) to keep the parliamentary constituencies of England under continuous review and periodically, every 8 to 12 years, to conduct a review of all constituencies in England at the same time and submit to the Secretary of State a report showing the constituencies they recommend.

AEA (Association of Electoral Administrators) -

The association is a professional body which represents the interests of electoral administrators in the UK.

ICELE (Internal Centre of Excellence for local eDemocracy)

To provide best practice advice, support and practical solutions to help local authorities increase national eParticipation rates.

Ministry of Justice - Electoral Policy Division

www.justice.gov.uk

Responsible for upholding justice, rights and democracy.