Voting

[Blue_skies]

I guess live-aboards with a permanent mooring address get to vote in local elections as well as national ones. Is this correct? But what about CCers with no home address? Can they vote nationally or locally? How does this work?

 

Thanks

Edited March 1, 2007 by Blue_skies

[magnetman]

I guess live-aboards with a permanent mooring address get to vote in local elections as well as national ones. Is this correct? But what about CCers with no home address? Can they vote nationally or locally? How does this work?

 

Thanks

I believe that BW are planning to change the license application regulations making it necessary for everyone to have a permanent address and not just a 'forwarding address'.

 

interesting link (don't think it mentions what I just commented on but it has some stuff about CC ing and voting) 1.2MB PDF

 

http://www.law.cf.ac.uk/tlru/TT9.pdf

 

do a 'find' search for 'canal' to get to the right section. I found it but then it disappeared something to do with displaying in acrobat properly. Maybe I need an upgrade on acrobat.

Edited March 1, 2007 by magnetman

[Orphiel]

Have found some info on what homeless people and travellers can do to vote, which is nearest you'd get, I reckon. You can make a declaration of local connection somewhere. Copied and pasted from info system at work:

 

Declaration of local connection

 

A declaration of local connection (declaration) may be made by homeless people, including squatters, patients in psychiatric hospitals and remand prisoners. This should be used by a client in one of the above groups who does not fulfil the usual residence requirements, but is otherwise entitled to register to vote.

 

The declaration must:-

• give the client's name; and

• provide an address for correspondence to be sent to, or an undertaking to collect such correspondence from the electoral registration office; and

• give the date of the declaration; and

• state that the client falls into one of the categories permitted to make a declaration and set out the relevant category;and

• state that the client fulfils the nationality requirements; and

• state that the client is 18 years old or, if s/he is not, give her/his date of birth.

If a client enters more than one address, or submits more than one declaration bearing the same date and different addresses, the declaration(s) will be void. A client may cancel a declaration at any time.

 

A declaration enables a client to apply to register to vote. S/he must submit the declaration to the registration officer within three months of the date on the declaration. Once registered, s/he is treated as being resident at the address s/he has given. This registration will be valid for twelve months unless cancelled or superseded.

Homeless people

 

If a client is homeless, s/he should make a declaration, giving the address of a place where s/he spends a substantial part of her/his time, or the address of somewhere near to that place. This could include a cafe or drop-in centre. A Traveller not settled on a site may be able to make a declaration.

 

As I note it does not tell you exactly how to do this, I would suggest contacting the Electoral Commission for more info on it.

 

Contacts

If you want to visit one of our offices in person, we have provided directions and maps which you can download from this page.

 

Our main contact details

The Electoral Commission

Trevelyan House

Great Peter Street

London SW1P 2HW

Tel: 020 7271 0500 (switchboard)

Fax: 020 7271 0505

Textphone: 18001 020 7271 0500

Email: info@electoralcommission.org.uk

 

Meg

[carlt]

I believe that BW are planning to change the license application regulations making it necessary for everyone to have a permanent address and not just a 'forwarding address'.

 

Interesting logic... "If they won't pay....let's make it harder for them to pay." Complete and utter fools!

Edited March 1, 2007 by carlt

[blackrose]

This topic reminded me of when I was CCing during that foot & mouth episode back in 2000? We weren't allowed to move our boats for 3 months and all the locks were chained up. When I came back to the boat one afternoon a National Census Form had been left in my bow well deck! I binned it in the end - couldn't be bothered with it. Nice of them to think about me though

Edited March 2, 2007 by blackrose

[David Schweizer]

I guess live-aboards with a permanent mooring address get to vote in local elections as well as national ones. Is this correct? But what about CCers with no home address? Can they vote nationally or locally? How does this work?

 

Thanks

Orphial is correct. anyone (over the age of 18) who does not live permanently at any one address can register to vote at any one place, but must provide an address where communications be can be made. Most people will normally choose the address of a relative or close friend,

 

A friend who had a relative who lived in a closely contested constituancy so he chose to register at that address where his vote really could have made a difference.

[anhar]

somewhat David but I thought you might be interested in a bit of canal history relevant to the matter of voting by boaters.

 

Three or four miles from my house, on the Grand Union Paddington Arm there's a place called Horsendon Hill and at one part of the foot of the hill there's a pub with the odd name of the Ballot Box, not far from the canal. It is so named because it is a rebuilt version of a building which was provided originally as a site for working boatmen on the GUPA to be able to vote.

 

regards

Steve