Secure your vote!
Canvassers are to visit households in St Albans District to encourage residents to secure their vote.
They will approach around 5,000 households that have yet to respond to a canvass form.
Every year, St Albans City and District Council conducts the annual canvass to keep the electoral register up to date.
The Council estimates that no changes to the register are needed at around 80% of the District’s 60,000-plus properties.
These households were contacted by email or letter to confirm the register details and were also given instructions on what to do if changes are required.
The remaining households where it was suspected there should be changes to the register were sent a canvass form with information on how to respond.
Canvassers will be visiting properties where there has been no response to these enquiries.
They will hand over another canvass form with a prepaid reply envelope and advise residents how they can respond by post, online or – in some cases – by phone.
If there is no reply, the form will be posted through the letter box.
Residents will be told that they need to respond to ensure they can vote at elections, including next May’s District Council and Parish Council elections.
If your name is not on the register, you will not be entitled to vote.
The door-to-door canvass will go on for several weeks until every property that has not completed a canvass form is approached.
Amanda Foley, Electoral Registration Officer for the District, said:
Our canvassers will call at every property where there has been no response to the forms that have been sent out. We want to make sure people do not lose their vote.
If you have not responded to the canvass form, please do so as soon as possible.
All you need to do is check the information it contains and either confirm it is correct or advise us of any changes. Instructions on how to do this are on the form.
Anyone not registered to vote can do so online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. It only takes a few minutes to do so.
People who are added to canvass forms will be sent letters inviting them to register.
Residents who have questions can contact the elections’ team by email at elections@stalbans.gov.uk or by telephoning 01727 819294.
Media contact: John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer: 01727 819533; john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk