Residential registration
The City Corporation maintains two lists of voters for its residents:
- The Ward List: the list of people able to vote in Ward elections for their local Alderman and Common Councilman. Registration for the Ward Lists is done during the annual canvass which takes place each autumn.
- The Electoral Register: the list of people able to vote in national elections, referendums and the London Mayor and Greater London Assembly (GLA).
During the canvass the Electoral Registration Officer reviews and updates the information contained in both lists so forms are sent to each residential address.
Annual Wardmotes
Every Ward List voter in the city of London is invited to attend their Ward's annual meeting, known as a Wardmote. Details of each meeting can be found on the annual wardmote webpage.
The annual canvass
Every year, by law, we carry out an annual canvass to ensure that the electoral register and ward list is up to date.
As part of this we must contact every property to find out if there are any changes to the household so we can remove the details of people who no longer live there and invite new occupants to register individually.
The canvass begins in August as each household is sent a letter asking for confirmation of who lives at their address in order to check who is eligible to register to vote. You are legally obliged to respond and could face a fine if you do not do so.
Residents can respond online, as well as by post. Online responses can be submitted at www.registersecurely.com/cityoflondon during the canvass period of August to December. You will need your unique two-part security code that is printed on the registration forms and can only make one submission per household.
Who can register
To register you must be
- 16 or over
- a resident in the City of London
- a British, Irish, Commonwealth or European Union citizen
Please note:
- Commonwealth citizens must have the right of abode or have leave to enter/remain in the UK.
- Citizens of the EU (other than the UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus) may only vote in local government elections and in European Parliamentary elections if they complete an additional form.
- 16 and 17 year olds may register but can only vote when they become 18.
- Students living away from home may register to vote at both their term time and at their home address.
Register to vote
Why you should register
Being able to vote gives you a say on important issues that affect you and your community - everything from roads and recycling, to education and climate change. You must be registered first to vote in elections, which can be called at short notice, so there may not be time to register later.
Your elected representatives make decisions that affect you. You can get in touch with your elected City of London Members – Aldermen and Common Councilmen - as well as your London, National and European representatives.
Being on the Electoral Register is also useful if you are applying for credit. Credit reference agencies use the Register as evidence of a person's address.
Electors can not be deleted from the Register simply by crossing their details on a household form, or from a written request to remove them.
The law requires for the Electoral Registration Officer to verify any requests to remove an elector. This will be achieved by checking against Council Tax records. If this does not verify that the elector has moved, then a letter will be sent to the elector at their registered address advising them that unless they confirm they are still there then they will be removed from the register. This could mean that letters will be sent to an elector at their address even if the occupiers have advised us that the person has moved out.
In cases where an elector has passed away then this should be advised in writing accompanied by a copy of the death certificate.
If someone re-registers at their new address their new local authority will pass this information directly to us and the elector will automatically be deleted from the Register.
To amendment to a name on the Register go to the GOV.UK website
The electoral register
Lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in public elections.
The register is used for electoral purposes – such as making sure only eligible people can vote – and for other limited purposes specified in law. The personal data in the register must always be processed in line with Data Protection legislation.
Who uses it?
- Election staff, political parties, candidates and holders of elected office use the register for electoral purposes.
- The City of London Corporation and the British Library hold copies that anyone can look at under supervision. A copy is also held by the Electoral Commission, the Boundary Commissions (which set constituency boundaries for most elections) and the Office for National Statistics.
- The City of London Corporation can use the register for its statutory duties relating to security, enforcing the law and preventing crime. There is more information on the City of London’s fair data processing policy under National Fraud initiative.
- The police and the security services can also use it for law enforcement.
- The register is used to call people for jury service.
- Government departments may buy the register from local registration officers and use it to help prevent and detect crime. They can also use it to safeguard national security by checking the background of job applicants and employees.
- Credit-reference agencies can buy the register to help them check the names and addresses of people applying for credit. They also use it to carry out identity checks when trying to prevent and detect money laundering.
It is a criminal offence for anyone to supply or use the register for anything else.
The open register
Is an extract of the full electoral register, but is not used for elections. It can be bought by any person, company or organisation. It is mainly used by businesses and charities to confirm name and address details. The personal data in the register must always be processed in line with Data Protection legislation.
Your name and address will be included in the open access register unless you ask for them to be removed. Removing your details from the edited register would not affect your right to vote. The form that you complete to apply to register, and the annual registration form sent to your address, asks whether you wish to opt-out of the edited register.
Who uses it?
Users of the open register include:
- businesses checking the identity and address details of people who apply for their services such as insurance, goods hire and property rental, as well as when they shop online
- businesses selling age-restricted goods or services, such as alcohol and gambling online, to meet the rules on verifying the age of their customers
- charities and voluntary agencies, for example to help maintain contact information for those who have chosen to donate bone marrow and to help people separated by adoption to find each other
- charities, to help with fundraising and contacting people who have made donations
- debt-collection agencies when tracing people who have changed address without telling their creditors
- landlords and letting agents when checking the identity of potential tenants
- local councils when identifying and contacting residents, for example when issuing residents parking permits and other local services which require evidence of residency
- online directory firms to help users of the websites to find people, such as when reuniting friends and families
- organisations tracing and identifying beneficiaries of wills, pensions and insurance policies
- private-sector firms to verify details of job applicants
People who have moved abroad within the last 15 years but used to be registered as a resident in the City of London, may register to vote as an overseas elector.
They will be entitled to vote in UK and European Parliamentary elections, but not at local elections. Registration must be renewed annually, and can be cancelled at any time.
Crown Servants or British Council employees working outside of the UK, or the spouse/civil partner of one, may register by completing the appropriate form. This must be renewed every year but may be cancelled at any time.
Homeless people
They should register at the address of a place where they spend a substantial part of their time, whether by day or night (or the address nearest that place).
Patients in mental
Voluntary or detained patients (but not those detained for criminal activity) may register at the institution they are currently resident, or at the address at which they would be living or have previously lived.
Remand prisoners
Remand (but not convicted) prisoners may register at the institution at which they are currently resident, or the address at which they would be living, or have previously lived.
All declarations of local connection must be renewed annually and may be cancelled at any time.
To request a Declaration of Local Connection form email the Electoral Services Team
If a person is over the age of 75 they are no longer eligible for jury service. On the voter registration form there is a box to be ticked informing us that you are over 75.