I Live In The City

Introduction

A resident completing a form All eligible residents in the City of London can register to vote for UK and European parliamentary, GLA and local City Ward elections.

There are 2 registers in the City of London – these are the Register of Electors and the Ward Lists.

The Register of Electors is a list of names of all residents who are registered to vote in UK and European Parliamentary and Greater London Authority (GLA) elections. Each local authority area publishes its own Register of Electors on 1st December each year. Once the Register of Electors is published in December each year, it is revised on a monthly basis between January and September. You are required by law to register, even if you do not intend to vote. If you do not register, you could be fined up to £1,000 and you may lose your right to vote. You could also have difficulty getting credit.

The Ward Lists are lists of resident and business voters in the City of London. There is a Ward List for each of the City’s 25 Wards. These lists are used for elections of Aldermen and Common Councilmen. Once the Ward Lists are published in February each year we cannot make amendments, including adding or removing people, until the next publication the following year.

The annual voter registration canvass

Each year we carry out an annual canvass of all residential properties in the City of London so that we can update the two registers and ensure that they are as accurate as possible. We do this by hand delivering registration forms and then making personal visits to those properties that do not return a form. Even if no one is eligible to vote at the property we still need a form returned so that we know that no one should be registered.

Registering To Vote

Vote You need to be registered so that you can vote in elections and have your say on the people who represent you.

The next ordinary elections of Common Councilmen, when all 100 seats will be up for election, are on 16 March 2009. You need to be registered on the Ward Lists to vote in these elections. Further information on these elections can be found in the elections section of the website which will be updated in due course.

The next European parliamentary elections will be held on Thursday 4 June 2009. You need to be registered on the Register of Electors to vote in this election.

The Register of Electors is also used by credit reference agencies to check your details when you apply for credit. It may therefore affect your ability to obtain credit if you are not registered.

The Registration Forms

Because there are two registers in the City of London residents have to complete two registration forms. These forms have to be returned by 28 November to make sure you are registered to vote. If we don’t receive a form back then a canvasser will come and pay a personal visit to you.

The forms, which are hand delivered to you in September, are pre-printed with the information we currently hold on the property. You just need to:

amend these details by adding new people
removing people no longer there
changing any spelling errors
if no-one should be registered then just tick the relevant reason on the form and provide information where necessary.

Please return the forms as soon as possible as this will mean we don’t have to send reminders and that our canvassers won’t have to pay you a personal visit - this will help to keep costs down. Along with the forms you will be sent a leaflet which will help you fill out the forms - you can download a copy of the leaflet here.

For more help on how to fill out the forms please click here for a pictorial diagram of the register of electors form or click here for a pictorial diagram of the wards lists form.

Can I Register To Vote?

To register to vote in the City of London you must be: A resident in the City of London

Over 18 years of age or you will reach the age of 18 before 28 November 2009 for the Register of Electors or 15 February 2010 for the Ward Lists
A British, Irish, Commonwealth or European Union citizen - download a list of eligible countries here.

Click here to view a flowchart to see if you are eligible to vote as a resident.

How do I register to vote?

Residential View You need to complete the two voter registration forms which are hand delivered to every household in the City of London at the beginning of September – this is done an annual basis. You have been provided with a pre-paid envelope to return them in. If you do not return them then a canvasser will pay you a personal visit to collect them from you.

For more help on how to fill out the forms please click here for a pictorial diagram of the register of electors form or click here for a pictorial diagram of the wards lists form.

The full and edited registers

The full register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote. Only certain people and organisations can have a copy, and they can only use it for specified purposes such as electoral purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and for checking your identity when you have applied for credit.

The edited register is available for general sale and can be used for any purpose including commercial activities such as marketing. If you do not want your details to appear on this register (i.e. if you do not want your details to be sold), you can ‘opt out’ by ticking the ‘edited register’ box on the registration form.

Why should I register to vote?

You need to be registered so that you can vote in elections. If you’re not registered then you won’t be able to have your say on the people who represent your views.

In addition the Register of Electors is used by credit reference agencies to check your details if you apply for credit. If you’re not registered you may have difficulty getting credit.

The Incentive Scheme

Everyone whose name appears on a returned Ward List form is put into a draw to win 1 of 100 pairs of tickets to any event at the Barbican centre. You will be notified in March 2009 if you have won. See www.barbican.org.uk for more information on the events based there.