Voting without being on the electoral roll

[Kristian]

Voting without being on the electoral roll, so can it be done and how....

 

If anyone has a link please feel free to place it here....

 

thanks

[zenataomm]

Seems not.

[David Schweizer]

Voting without being on the electoral roll, so can it be done and how....

 

If anyone has a link please feel free to place it here....

 

thanks

 

Having served as a Polling Clerk and Polling Station Presiding Officer many times, I can assure you catagorically that the anwer is NO! More importantly it is a criminal offence not to register to vote, with a maximum penalty of £1,000. Since 2012 registration is a personal responsibility, rather than the responsibility of the "Head of Household"

 

There are two Electoral Registers, the Open Register which lists every person entitled to vote, and the Opt Out Register which excludes the names of any person who has registered but does not want their name published in the public Open Register. You can still vote if you are on the Opt Out Register

Edited March 25, 2015 by David Schweizer

[Paul C]

You can register a "declaration of local connection" if you have no fixed address, details here: http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/register-to-vote/how-to-register-to-vote

Edited March 25, 2015 by Paul C

[Jim Batty]

You can register a "declaration of local connection" if you have no fixed address, details here: http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/register-to-vote/how-to-register-to-vote

 

Yes, this has always bothered me (to the extent that I haven't voted). You must either declare yourself homeless (we are not -- we have a beautiful boat that we move around on), a mental patient, or somebody held in custody.

 

I suppose we could lie and say we are homeless, but would this have implications for credit/banking/etc?

 

Anybody have any experience of this?

[Paul C]

To quote: "This may be because" not "You must be".

There's a subtle difference between homeless and "no fixed abode".

[zenataomm]

 

Yes, this has always bothered me (to the extent that I haven't voted). You must either declare yourself homeless (we are not -- we have a beautiful boat that we move around on), a mental patient, or somebody held in custody.

 

I suppose we could lie and say we are homeless, but would this have implications for credit/banking/etc?

 

Anybody have any experience of this?

That's offensive.

Mental Health Service Users are not required to declare anything.

How do I know? ..... How do you think?

[David Schweizer]

There is a lot of misinformation flying about. The official declaration form for registering to vote with no fixed address makes no mention of declaring yourself as either "homeless" or "of no fixed abode" . The term used is "no fixed address" and requires you to give an "address or place where you spend a large part of your time", which is needed in order that you can be registered as eligble to vote in a particular Ward or Constituency.

 

For those who need the form it can be found by Googling "Registering to vote with no fixed address" I tried posting a link but it will not work.

Edited March 25, 2015 by David Schweizer

[Lmcgrath87]

Just went to register to vote and what a palava, I realised I have only have changed my name since I got married, and I need to dig out my National Insurance number and tell a few more important people that my name is different. whoops.

[David Schweizer]

Just went to register to vote and what a palava, I realised I have only have changed my name since I got married, and I need to dig out my National Insurance number and tell a few more important people that my name is different. whoops.

 

You will find that you need your NI number for any official Government communication. It is the only identity which remains with you from Birth to death.

[bigste]

Paul C is correct. I live in Spain but vote in UK. You must register a local connection and then you can vote in person or as in my case by post. So our ex polling officer really does not know what he is talking about. I'm pretty sure it can be done on line. It's ages since I registered but do still vote. I seem to remember that your 'local connection' must be from within the last 15 years but it could be that you must have lived in UK within last 15 years.

[KevMc]

 

You will find that you need your NI number for any official Government communication. It is the only identity which remains with you from Birth to death.

 

I thought you only got your NI number when you reached working age but there is a national health number that stays from birth to death

[Lmcgrath87]

 

You will find that you need your NI number for any official Government communication. It is the only identity which remains with you from Birth to death.

 

yeahh I lost it before when I younger and had no job so no way of finding it without contacting them. Luckily it's just at home, just means it will have to wait til tomorrow now.

[8 Hairy Feet]

nhs 10 digit number from cradle to grave

as kev states

[mayalld]

Paul C is correct. I live in Spain but vote in UK. You must register a local connection and then you can vote in person or as in my case by post. So our ex polling officer really does not know what he is talking about.

 

 

How so?

 

He said that you have to be on the register, and you do.

 

Perhaps the OP didn't actually ask the right question.

[bigste]

 

How so?

 

He said that you have to be on the register, and you do.

 

Perhaps the OP didn't actually ask the right question.

The OP implies he is not on the electoral roll and asks if he can vote. The answer is yes as I said.

[bottle]

Only if he registers... and then he will be on one of the two electoral rolls.

[David Schweizer]

Paul C is correct. I live in Spain but vote in UK. You must register a local connection and then you can vote in person or as in my case by post. So our ex polling officer really does not know what he is talking about. I'm pretty sure it can be done on line. It's ages since I registered but do still vote. I seem to remember that your 'local connection' must be from within the last 15 years but it could be that you must have lived in UK within last 15 years.

 

I am confused. You state that you must register in order to vote, which is what i said, but suggest that I do not know what I am talking about, Forgive me if i disagree with your second observation.

 

For the benefit of clarity I will repeat that in order to vote in UK elections and referendums you have to be registered. The law is quite clear and there are no excemptions, not even for UK citizens living abroad. Of course if you have lied on the declaration form, or have failed to re-register a change of address you may well be able to get away with it but if you do vote under such circumstances, it is a criminal offence

 

The registration proceedure works on a last information received basis, so if you are already registered and your details have not changed your registration remains live. It is those who become UK citizens, those who reach voting age, and existing registered voters who move or change their name who have to register.

Edited March 25, 2015 by David Schweizer

[David Schweizer]

The OP implies he is not on the electoral roll and asks if he can vote. The answer is yes as I said.

 

Please explain how. If he seeks to vote at a Polling Station and his name is not on the full Electoral Register at the Polling Station, he will not be issued with a voting paper. If he seeks to vote by proxy at a Polling Station the nominated person will be refused a voting paper. If he seeks to vote by post, the Returning Officer will not issue a postal voting sheet.

[ValandPete]

I have registered to vote for the first time since giving up a home mooring. It cannot be done on line, a form has to be filled in and given to the electoral registrar in the place you are claiming a local connection. It is easy to do.

I was concerned about what appeared on the register however I have established that nothing other than your name appears. The column where an address would normally appear is merely left blank.

 

Val

[David Schweizer]

 

I thought you only got your NI number when you reached working age but there is a national health number that stays from birth to death

 

Yes you are correct, although I cannot remember the last time i was asked to produce my NH number. I have been a serial hospital attender over the past five years, but they seem to rely on my hospital number, which I assume is different form my NH number.

 

Edited to add: I have just checked some of my hospital correspondance, and my NH number is different from my hospital number

Edited March 25, 2015 by David Schweizer

[Lmcgrath87]

I wasn't born in the UK so probably don't have a NH number? I do have an NI number though

[Guest]

I wasn't born in the UK so probably don't have a NH number? I do have an NI number though

If you have been registered with GP here you should have an NHS number,

 

http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/thenhs/records/pages/thenhsnumber.aspx

[Giant]

Those living on boats are specifically discussed in this document from the Electoral Commission, under "Declaration of local connection" on page 29. They are a separate category from the less flattering ones mentioned previously but the declaration to be made is the same.

[Jim Batty]

You can register a "declaration of local connection" if you have no fixed address, details here: http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/register-to-vote/how-to-register-to-vote

This page cites:

 

"Registering to vote with no fixed address

 

You can still register to vote even if you do not have a fixed address. This may be because you are:

• a patient in a mental health hospital
• a homeless person
• a person remanded in custody

 

There is a lot of misinformation flying about. The official declaration form for registering to vote with no fixed address makes no mention of declaring yourself as either "homeless" or "of no fixed abode" . The term used is "no fixed address" and requires you to give an "address or place where you spend a large part of your time", which is needed in order that you can be registered as eligble to vote in a particular Ward or Constituency.

 

For those who need the form it can be found by Googling "Registering to vote with no fixed address" I tried posting a link but it will not work.

 

I don't have the form in front of me (it's buried under the bow), but I thought it did require you to be homeless, or institutionalised. I'll have to dig it out.