Residents Urged to Sign Up for E-Mail Reminders as Annual Electoral Register Check Begins

The annual process of checking that information held on the electoral register is accurate begins this week, known as the electoral canvass, with residents being urged to sign up to email reminders.

66,379 residents in Reading already receive communications via email for the first stage of the electoral canvass, which is an easier, quicker and cheaper way to respond to the Council. People can contact the elections team at elections@reading.gov.uk to share their email address for future correspondence.

Thousands of emails are being sent to residents from this week. If you receive an email you must respond, either to confirm the electoral registration information held is still correct, or to advise of any changes. The quickest and easiest way is online by following the details given. If you don’t respond electronically we are required to write to you.

Where the Council does not yet hold a valid email address, a letter will be posted instead. If no changes are required, residents do not need to respond to the letter. They are however being asked to share their email address for future communications.

Louise Duffield, Electoral Registration Officer at Reading Borough Council, said:

"We’d urge all residents to help us help you by signing up for email reminders. It’s not only the simplest and quickest way to respond, it also saves the Council and the council taxpayer money as there are no postage costs for anyone.

“You can sign up by either confirming your email address with our elections team at elections@reading.gov.uk or, for people still receiving letters, by sharing your email address by following the instructions given.

“It’s important that residents keep an eye out for emails or letters from the Council over the coming days and weeks and respond as quickly as they can. Responses allow us to keep the electoral register up to date, to identify people who are not registered to vote and encourage them to do so.”