Residents Urged to Check Voter Registration Details

Reading residents are being urged to take some time to check their electoral registration details or risk losing their chance to vote on the local decisions which affect them.

With the next scheduled elections in Reading due to take place in May 2026, the annual canvass process enables the Council to keep the electoral register up to date, identify residents who risk losing their voice at elections, and to encourage them to register before it’s too late.

The next phase of the Council’s drive to get as many residents as possible in Reading to sign up to the electoral register begins this week, with hard copy canvass forms sent out in the post to households which have not yet responded.

As well as responding to the Annual Canvass Form, residents not currently registered can do so online at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. It takes five minutes.

Residents with questions about their registration status can contact Reading Council’s local electoral services team at Elections@reading.gov.uk or by phoning 0118 937 3717.

Michael Graham, Electoral Registration Officer at Reading Borough Council, said:

“I’d urge residents to keep a close eye out for the canvass forms which will be landing on doormats from this week and to take a few minutes to respond. The forms are only going to households where we have not been able to match details with the Department of Work and Pension (DWP) and to households who have not yet responded to the original canvass letters sent out at the end of July. 

“The quickest and easiest way to reply is online by following the simple instructions in the letter. Alternatively, please check the details on the form and update the information if necessary, returning the form in the pre-paid envelope provided. People must respond to this latest letter by 10 September 2025. 

“Where no response is received, the Council is then obliged to follow up with households again, which could include door to door canvassers visiting or telephoning the address. It costs the Council money to do this, so it’s important the form is returned as quickly as possible, ideally online which is by far the quickest route.

“The annual canvass is our way of making sure that the information on the electoral register for every address is accurate and up to date. If you’re not currently registered, your name will not appear in the messages we send. If you want to register, the easiest way is online at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.”

Recent home movers in particular are urged to check their details. Electoral Commission research has found that recent home movers are less likely to be registered than those who have lived at the same address for a long time. In Great Britain, 92% of those who have lived in their home for 16 years will be registered, compared with 36% of people who have lived at an address for less than a year.

Information on registering to vote is available on the Electoral Commission website.