Electoral Registration - West Somerset Council

How do I Register to Vote?

How do I check that I am registered to vote?

To check whether your name is included on the Register of Electors you can inspect the Register at the Council Offices or, alternatively, contact Electoral Services.

Rolling Registration

You can apply to be included on the register of electors by using the voter registration form in the Related Documents area on the right.

If your form is completed correctly your name will be placed on a new applicant list. Provided that no-one objects to your name appearing on the Register of Electors for the address you give, you will be added to the Register on the next available update.

Regulations provide for the Register of Electors to be updated on the first working day of each month. However, there is a deadline each month for the receipt of applications for inclusion in the update due to be effected the following month. Each elector must sign their own application form, someone else cannot do this for them.

We will advise you when your name has been added to the Register of Electors and also in the event that someone has raised an objection to your inclusion on the Register of Electors.

Also, being on the Council Tax Register does not automatically mean that you are on the Register of Electors. The two registers contain different information.

Annual Canvass

Each year, at the end of August, Electoral & Registration Services sends out a voter registration form to each of the 17,500 households in West Somerset asking them to register all eligible electors and anyone who will become 18 during the life of the next year's Register of Electors. All electors' details are updated during this annual canvass period, September to November, and a new Register is published on the 1 December.

So if you need to register to vote during this period just return the updated form to us as soon as you receive it. If you have not received a form by 15th October please contact us.

Even if you are already registered as a voter at your property you will still need to respond to the voter registration form in order to ensure that your registration continues for a further year. Don't assume that because you were registered last year that your name will be automatically included in this year's Register of Electors.

Also, being on the Council Tax Register does not automatically mean that you are on the Register of Electors. The two registers contain different information.

The law says you must respond to the voter registration form request each year, although whether you choose to use your right to vote or not is your choice. If you do not respond to the annual canvass request or give false information, you may be liable to a fine of £1,000.

Telephone, Internet & SMS Text Messaging

To help lower the cost of updating the register we provide a telephone and internet based service for recording your responses for any households with no changes to their pre printed annual Voter Registration Form. To use these services you must have your security codes, which are printed on your Voter Registration Form.

Once an election has been called

Once an election has been called you will be able to register up until 11 working days before polling day. You should submit a voter registration form from the download area on the right.