Published on 16th January 2015

Residents of Cheltenham borough who have not yet registered to vote are being encouraged to do so – in line with a national campaign.

National Voter Registration Day takes place on 5 February 2015 as part of a nationwide week of action to encourage and inspire people to come out and register to vote.

In line with the campaign, and with the general election taking place this year, the borough council is urging its residents to get involved by registering to vote. They can do this online at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or contact the elections team for a registration form. In the next couple of weeks, every household in the borough will receive a letter asking them to check that their registration details held on the electoral register are correct.  If they are not correct, residents are advised as to how they can update their details so that they are entitled to vote.

The national campaign also aims to tackle the lack of engagement in politics which is common across the UK particularly among those aged 18-24, as less than 25% of that age bracket turned-out to vote in the 2010 General Election.

National Voter Registration Day proved to be a success last year, with around 35,000 people in the UK registering to vote in just one day.

Andrew North, electoral registration officer said:  "We fully support this national campaign which highlights the importance of voting.  It’s so important that people make sure they are registered to vote before they go along to the polling station on voting day. You can register your details quickly online and the form takes about five minutes to complete. Registering your details by post is also easy – just contact the borough council’s elections office to do this.

"Once registered, residents can exercise their democratic right to vote for the candidates that they wish to represent them in government.  Don’t forget – if you are not on the register, you cannot vote.’’

Further information about voter registration will be contained in the letters going to residents and in the meantime, people can visit our website: www.cheltenham.gov.uk/elections, call the elections team on 01242 264132 or call in to the Municipal Offices for more information.

 

Press enquiries: Please contact Laura Carter, communications officer, on 01242 775037 or [email protected]

 

Notes to editor: For more information about the campaign, visit: http://bitetheballot.co.uk/nvrd/#the-campaign
Please note there are separate registration services for public servants who are likely to be posted overseas namely people in the armed forces, crown servants, and British Council employees.