Annual canvass
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Our communications should not be confused for a scam:
- our emails will be sent out from electoral.services.tewkesbury.borough.council@notifications.service.gov.uk with the subject line of ‘Electoral Register Annual Check – Action required‘;
- letters will be addressed to the ‘Resident/Occupier’, carry the Council’s logo and address details, and include one of the following headings; ‘You must respond so we can check who is eligible to register to vote‘ or ‘Is the electoral register information correct for this address?‘.
- if you are in any doubt about a communication, please do not respond before getting in touch with us via email (elections@tewkesbury.gov.uk) or phone (01684 272025) during normal office hours.
Having problems with your security codes?
- The codes can only be used once for the household.
- If the security codes are copied from our email and pasted into the online response service, some devices/systems may add a ‘space’ before the first digit of each code, thereby preventing the codes from working (the service ‘sees’ a seven digit code in Part 1 and a nine digit code in Part 2, rather than six and eight digits respectively).
- If this happens to you, please re-enter the codes and check to ensure that there is no space before or after the security code digits. If this still does not resolve the issue, please get in touch.
Annual electoral register canvass
We are required by law to keep the register of eligible voters up to date. From August/September each year we contact every household to find out if the details on the electoral register are correct. This is known as the ‘annual canvass’. Being registered gives you the right to vote at elections and could also improve your credit rating or help you if you need to apply for credit.
The annual canvass is underway.
Our communications
There will be a mix of emails and letters (plus a final personal canvass stage, involving visits to properties).
The communications will include details of those individuals currently registered at the property, and a request for a member of the household to confirm whether the details are correct or tell us about any changes.
In terms of dates:
- Initial paper communication (letters) will be sent out on Friday 31 July
- Initial email communication will be sent out on Tuesday 18 August
- Follow-up letters will be sent out in two tranches on 27 August and 14 September
- Follow-up email communication will be sent out on Tuesday 1 September
- The personal canvass stage will take place between 25 September and 19 October.
We are mindful of the prevalence of scams, particularly in email form. We have therefore included relevant assurances in our communications, and details of how electors can cross check that our communications are genuine. For information:
- Our emails will be sent out from the email address electoral.services.tewkesbury.borough.council@notifications.service.gov.uk with the subject line of ‘Electoral Register Annual Check – Action required.
- Our letters will be addressed to the ‘Resident/Occupier’, carry the Council’s logo and address details, and include one of the following headings: ‘You must respond so we can check who is eligible to register to vote’ or ‘Is the electoral register information correct for this address?’.
- If we need to call someone, the call will be made from either 01684 272025, 01684 272043, 01684 272028 or 01684 272050 (although the location may show as Malvern).
In terms of responding to our communications:
There is an online automated response service, available 24/7. We have appointed Civica Election Services to run this service on our behalf, and it can be accessed using the following address link:
https://householdresponse.com/tewkesburybc
This link will take you to Civica’s Tewkesbury page to enable you complete their household response. You will need to enter the unique security codes (Part 1 and Part 2) included in your letter/email along with the postcode of the property (as shown in the canvass communication).
Where no changes are required to the electoral registration details, you can also respond via one of the following options:
- Call 0800 884 0701 – they will require Part 1 and Part 2 of their security code (included in their letter/email); or
- Text NOCHANGE followed by Part 1 and Part 2 of their security code (included in their letter/email) to 80212.
It is important that you respond when asked to confirm or update your details to avoid reminders having to be sent or someone needing to visit you to get this information. This will save paper, time and money.
Notwithstanding all of the above, if you or anyone is in any doubt about a communication, please do not respond before getting in touch with us via email (elections@tewkesbury.gov.uk) or phone (01684 272025) during normal office hours.
If someone has moved address?
If you receive a communication from us regarding an address that you are no longer living at, you should either email or call us.
New residents
Any new residents who are eligible to register will need to make an individual registration application to complete the second stage of the process – simply adding names to the household response does not complete their registration.
16 – 17 year olds
Currently, young people can vote when they turn 18 but they can register from the age of 16. However, the Government has been considering proposals to allow 16 and 17 year-olds to vote from the next Parliamentary (General) Election.
Ways to apply to register
Applications to register can be made:
- online at gov.uk/register-to-vote, or
- via a paper form – by using the information provided to us on any canvass return, we will send separate paper individual registration forms to those residents who do not apply online, or
- by calling the team on 01684 272025.
When making your application, you will need to provide your date of birth and National Insurance Number.
Publicity
In addition to this website information, we will issue media releases and provide regular reminders via social media channels at key stages in the canvass process/timetable. Please keep an eye out for these communications.
Privacy Statement - Electoral Registration
The Electoral Registration Officer is the Data Controller. Their lawful basis for collecting personal information is that the processing is necessary in order to perform a task in the public interest as set out in the Representation of the People Act 1983 and related legislation.
The Electoral Registration Officer is legally required to process your personal information securely and comply with data protection legislation.
If you opted-out of the open register, your name and address can only be used for electoral purposes (including matching it against other data sources to support the electoral register) and other limited purposes specified in law. The law allows your information to be used for democratic engagement activities (by political parties, candidates, and agents), crime detection, jury summoning, and credit application identity checks.
If you did not opt-out of the open register your name and address can be bought by anyone and used for lots of purposes, including direct marketing.
Alistair Cunningham, Electoral Registration Officer.