As you might have noticed a General Election has been called in the UK for the 4th of July. By coincidence BBCA member, Chris, got their reinstated UK election vote (in postal form) confirmed a couple of hours before Rishi Sunak declared the election. If you haven’t reclaimed your right to vote in a UK election - and you want to – then here is Chris’s ‘how to do it’ guide.
The UK Election Act 2022 changed the rules for British citizens who left the UK more than 15 years ago returning their right to vote in UK elections. The act allows UK citizens who have been resident outside the UK for an extended period to (re)register in the last constituency they were signed up in before leaving the UK.
Our member, Chris, initially went to the website https://www.gov.uk/voting-when-abroad to register. He gave details of when he last voted in the UK, which in his case was Lichfield in 1997!
He swiftly got an acknowledgement from Lichfield (see above) that his application had been received. And a few days ago, he was invited to apply for a proxy or postal vote (see below).
Chris says: “It was quite an easy process. You needed details like your last address and your national insurance (NI) number.” He is looking forward to having an impact and exercising his reinstated right to vote.
To do the same you need to get you skates on as - with an election called - the clock is now ticking!
The General Election Registration Timeline (all times are UK)
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Deadline for registering to vote is 23h59 on Tuesday 18 June
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Deadline for applying for a postal vote is 17h00 on Wednesday 19 June
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Deadline for applying for a proxy vote is 17h00 on Wednesday 26 June
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Deadline for applying for a Voter Authority Certificate is 17h00 on Wednesday 26 June
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Polling day itself is from 07h00 to 22h00 on Thursday 4 July
Registration resources
Your starting point for voter registration is https://www.gov.uk/voting-when-abroad
Chris’s experience with Lichfield was very good, but not all councils will be as proactive in communicating, for example, your confirmation of registration or suggesting that a proxy or postal vote may be appropriate. However they should respond to email queries.
Having registered you can the apply for a proxy vote or a postal vote.
Proxy Voting - Apply for a proxy vote - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Postal Voting - Apply for a postal vote - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Possibly the safest way to ensure your vote will count on the day, unless you happen to be in your old constituency on 4 July (and if you are, don’t forget to take your passport to the polling station), is to combine the two and register for a postal vote to be sent to your nominated proxy in the UK.
Other useful sources of information include the UK Electoral Commission and our friends at British in Europe have also published an update to their guide to UK Voter Registration.
