Will you be able to vote? Residents urged to check they are registered

Residents in Bury will start to receive their annual canvass next week.

A new, national process was introduced last year which means that most people will not need to do anything.

At the beginning of August, emails will be sent to people who have previously provided elections with this contact information. If you receive an email, please respond so that we don’t need to write to you. Emails will come from Civica Election Services on behalf of Bury and will direct you to the Government’s ‘Register Vote’ website. We will never ask for financial information.

All residents will receive a letter and in the majority of cases, households will not need to respond if all the information is correct and complete – the letter will clearly state if this is the case. However, if there are any changes to the electors shown on the register you must tell us.

The change was made to make the canvass easier and simpler for people whose circumstances have not changed.

Otherwise, a qualifying elector in the household will have to confirm the elector details. It may also be necessary for us to ask you for more information before we update the register.

If residents have to make any change, they can do this easily online or by phone, by following the instructions in the letter or email. People can also complete the paper form sent to them and return it to us in the post.

We will only call someone if they need to confirm an elector in a household. Again a genuine caller will never ask for financial information.

Letters are being sent to around 85,000 properties in Bury, where around 146,000 voters are currently registered.

Geoff Little, Bury’s Electoral Registration Officer and Chief Executive, said: “Please keep an eye out for the letter that will be delivered to every residential property in Bury or your emails if you have previously given us information, during the next few weeks and read it carefully.

“We carry out the annual canvass by law and it is an important part of making sure that as many people as possible have the right to vote.

“It is simpler this year for people whose circumstances have not changed.

“However, the register is often not up to date for people who have lived in a property for less than a year.

“If your circumstances have changed or if the information on the register is not accurate you may be denying yourself or other people living in your household the opportunity to vote.

“Please check the information carefully and follow the guidance.”

If you have not registered to vote you can do so by visiting www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or contact the Elections Team.

Anyone who lives in your household, as long as they are over 18 years of age and are eligible to vote, can update the register for a household.

Further information about the electoral register and how to vote is available from the Electoral Commission https://www.electoralcommissio...