– REGISTER OF ELECTORS – LOOK OUT FOR YOUR ANNUAL ENQUIRY FORM

REGISTER OF ELECTORS – LOOK OUT FOR YOUR ANNUAL ENQUIRY FORM

All councils, including the Isle of Wight Council, carry out an annual check of the electoral register. This is known as the annual canvass.

During the annual canvass, they send a form to every household on the Island to check that the people registered to vote at that address are correct.

Every residential property (around 72,000) on the Island is being sent a form and every household is required to respond to ensure the data held is correct and up-to-date. Even if someone in the property only recently registered to vote, they will still need to respond.

The form allows you to advise the elections office about who lives at your address – and to add details of new residents or change information where residents have moved away. Any newly identified electors will then be sent a personalised electoral registration form, which they must complete in order to be registered to vote.

The updated information will ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote and has registered will be able to vote in any forthcoming elections or referendums.

We are asking householders to respond to the enquiry form by 21 August. Completing and returning the form will also help save the cost of sending reminders or follow-up visits.

Save time, do it online
Residents also have the option of completing the form online, via www.householdresponse.com/iow

To use this secure website, you will need your postcode and the unique two-part security code that is printed on the form. Alternatively, if there are no changes at your household, you can telephone 0800 197 9871 to confirm this.

Choose how you vote
The enquiry form also allows an existing elector to request an application form to vote by post or proxy. If an elector already has a permanent postal or proxy vote then this will be indicated on the form.

Young adults

Young adults who are 16 or 17 years of age should be included on the form, so our electoral registration team can send them a registration form to enable them to register and vote once they turn 18.

My details are correct on the form

If all your household details are correct, you just need to confirm the details on the form by responding online, by telephone or by signing it and sending back to County Hall.

Why should I fill it in?

The Full Register is open for public inspection at the reception desk, County Hall, Newport and there is a legal requirement for every household in the UK to supply the information when asked to do so.

Additionally the Full Register can be used by some statutory bodies and credit reference agencies to help verify identities and protect against crime. For example, if a person is not registered at the address they give on a loan application, they may be refused credit, or at least find it more difficult to obtain.

There is a choice, however, about whether you want your name and address to appear on the Open Register, as opposed to the Full Register. The Open Register is available for use by commercial organisations. The choice to be excluded from the Open Register was introduced in 2002 and there is a section on the enquiry form indicating existing preferences.

I have not received an enquiry form?

If your household has not received an enquiry form by early August, then please contact the Electoral Services office at the Isle of Wight Council via email at electoral.services@iow.gov.uk or telephone on (01983) 823380.

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