People reminded to register to vote

All homeowners will have recently received, or will soon receive, a form – addressed to the homeowner – asking them to complete the register of electors form for Wychavon District Council.

The form asks for the names of anyone living at the property who is 18 or over and eligible to vote.

People with no changes to make to their details will now have four ways to respond – by text, telephone, internet or post. Confirming details by text or internet will even produce an automatic confirmation, so homeowners can rest easy that they have updated their entry of another year.

For those that do need to make amendments, the forms will still need to be returned by freepost.

If people don’t return their forms to register, they may find they face problems in the future with not only losing their right to vote, but they may find it difficult to get credit for such things as bank loans, mobile phone contracts and even mortgages.

Elaine Dicks, electoral services manager, said: “We get many calls from frustrated people who cannot get a mortgage or rent agreement because they have not registered on the electoral register. They can apply to register throughout the year, but this is often too late for us to be able to help them. If they could spend five minutes to register now it could save them a lot of worry in the future.”

Every year there are thousands of homes that do not return their forms simply because they have been forgotten or misplaced, so reminders have to be sent.

For further information contact the Electoral Services Team on 01386 565437 or email elections@wychavon.gov.uk