Clock Ticking on Deadline to Register to Vote

RESIDENTS who have not yet registered to vote only have a few weeks remaining if they want to have their say at this year’s local elections.

Thursday 7 May is polling day, but the deadline to register to vote is now just over six weeks away, at midnight on Monday 20 April.

By far the quickest and easiest way to register is online at gov.uk/register-to-vote. It only takes five minutes.

Postal voting is a really easy way to cast your vote. A change in law means postal votes are now only valid for three years and thousands of residents have already renewed theirs. Have you renewed yours? If not there’s still time to reapply ahead of the postal vote deadline of 5pm on Tuesday 21 April.  The quickest way to do that is online at Apply for a postal vote - GOV.UK, or you can contact the team at elections@reading.gov.uk or 0118 937 3717 for a hard copy of the application to be sent.

Lots of residents prefer the more traditional way of casting their vote, by visiting their local polling station in person. Your local polling station will be sent to you when polling cards are posted out at the end of March, with a second round towards the end of April.

By now, we are all now used to bringing along voter ID on the day. You can find a reminder of the forms of ID at Electoral Commission website and you can also use expired ID, as long as you are still recognisable from the photo. And if you do not have the right ID, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate online at https://www.voter-authority-certificate.service.gov.uk/ or contact the Council if you need a hard copy sent to you.  

Sometimes residents need a trusted person to vote on their behalf, known as a proxy vote. More information can be found at Elections and voting - Reading Borough Council The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm on Tuesday 28 April.

Louise Duffield, Returning Officer at Reading Borough Council, said:

“After no local elections in Reading last year, there is not long left now before residents will again have the opportunity to have their say on the decisions which affect day-to-day life. The last thing the Council wants is for people to miss out on casting their vote because they were not aware of the deadline for registering, which is now only six short weeks away.   

“We know there are some groups of residents, in particular young people, students and anybody who may have recently moved, who are less likely to be registered than others. As always, the quickest way to do it is online at gov.uk/register-to-vote – it only takes five minutes.

“The Council is here to help so if you have any questions, whether it’s on registering, postal votes or proxy votes, please don’t hesitate to contact our local elections team and they will point you in the right direction.”