Newark & Sherwood District Council

 Register of Electors

The Electoral Services office is responsible for maintaining the Register of Electors and the organisation of all elections within the district. These include election of Parish/Town Councillors, District Ward Councillors, County Councillors, Members of Parliament, Members of the European Parliament and Referendums.

Find out more here about registering to vote or voting.

What is the register of electors?

The Register of Electors is a list of everyone in the district who is eligible to vote. You can only vote in elections if your name appears in the Register of Electors.

Annual registration forms are delivered to every property in the district in September each year. The form should include all those living in households on 15th October who are over the age of 18 or approaching 18.

You must register every year and are not automatically registered even if you pay Council Tax. Once this information is collected the Register of Electors is published on 1 December and used in all elections held until 30th November the following year.

You can register by completing and returning the form by post or register on the Internet, telephone or text. The details of how to complete your registration are shown on the form.

Rolling Registration

If you are not registered to vote, or have moved address/changed your name after 15th October, you can register at any time from 1st December to mid August (updates to the register are made at the beginning of each month from January to September). You will need to complete and return a voter registration form (PDF File, 112kb)Applications received are added to the register subject to no objections being received (the form will tell you when you will be registered which depends on when it is received). You will be notified in writing when your registration is effective. If appropriate we will contact the authority where you were previously registered and will request them to delete your old registration.

If you are over the age of 18 or will soon be 18, a British, Irish, Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of a member state of the European Union and a resident of the District at least 6 months of the year, you are eligible to be on the register of electors. Please note: If you are a European Union citizen you can only vote in local government elections. The annual registration and voter registration forms will ask you to state your nationality.

The two versions of the register
There are two versions of the electoral register – the full register and the edited register.

You can indicate on the annual registration form or voter registration form if you wish your name and address not to be included on the edited register. The edited register is available for general sale and can be used for any purpose such as marketing activities.

The full register lists the name and address of everyone who is registered to vote. Anyone can view this register. The full register is presented in accordance with the electoral wards in the district and sub-divided into smaller areas known as polling districts. Each polling district lists the relevant streets in alphabetical order.
 
The main use of the full register is to show who can vote in elections. Credit reference agencies are entitled to a copy of this register and use it to check your details if you are applying for credit and for other purposes specified in law.

Why should I register to vote?
If you do not register, you will not be able to vote at any election. It is a criminal offence not to complete and return the annual registration form, or to provide inaccurate or false information and you could be liable for a fine.