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 How to register to vote including how to register using the online, freephone or text service
Register of Electors 2009 - 2008 annual canvass
Every British, Commonwealth or Republic of Ireland citizen living in Great Britain is eligible to vote in this country's elections. All other European Union citizens are eligible to vote in European Parliamentary elections and local elections held here.
The next election due to take place is the European Parliamentary Election on Thursday 4 June 2009
By law, you must complete and return a registration form every year, even if you do not intend to vote or do not qualify to vote. If you complete and return the form and you are eligible your name will be on the Electoral Register (also known as the voters' list) and you will be able to vote in elections held here. If you don't provide the requested information or knowingly provide false information you may be fined up to £1,000.
A revised register will be published on 1 December 2008 and voter registration forms are at the moment being delivered to every property in the Borough.
If you do not wish to wait for this form to be delivered you can download a copy of the form below. You will then need to complete it remembering to sign it and post it to the address shown below. If you wish you can fax the form to us, the fax number is 020 8871 8382:
Electoral Services
Room 81
Town Hall
Wandsworth High Street
London, SW18 2PU
Please fax or post this form to us only if your address is within the London Borough of Wandsworth.
Please note that if you download and complete this form you will be unable to register via the freephone , online or text service.
 Register of Electors 2009 (373 kb)
Only those people who live in the London Borough of Wandsworth should complete this form. If you live in another area visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk to be taken to your council's website.
Who to include and who not to include on your form
You should name the following people on the form:
- Anyone who will be working away from home for less than six months.
- Anyone who normally lives with you but is temporarily away. For example, because they are on holiday, at college, or in hospital. This includes patients with mental illness who are voluntarily in hospital for a short stay.
- Long term residents, guests or lodgers.
You should not name the following people on the form:
- Foreign nationals - except for citizens of the Commonwealth (including Cyprus and Malta), the Republic of Ireland and any other European Union country.
- People under 16.
- Members of HM forces who have made a Service Declaration. If you are not sure about this, please contact the Electoral Registration Service.
- Crown servants and British Council staff who are working abroad.
- Wives or husbands of Crown servants, and British Council staff who are living abroad with their partners.
- Long-stay voluntary patients in psychiatric hospitals.
- Convicted prisoners who are in prison.
The following category of voters must not be included on your form:
Please contact Electoral Services for more details on how they should register.
Registering by freephone
If the details on the registration form being delivered to your property are correct and there are no additions or alterations, you can register via FREEPHONE 0800 197 7682, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You will need a touch tone phone with a (star) * button and you will be given step-by-step instructions. You need to have the form in front of you, as you will need the two security codes that appear on your form.
If the only changes to the pre-printed details relate to the edited register you can still register via freephone.
Registering by the online service
If the details on the registration form being delivered to your property are correct and there are no additions or alterations, you can register via our online service by visiting the website www.registerbyinternet.com/wandsworth 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When visiting this site you will be given step-by-step instructions and you will need to have your registration form in front of you, as you will need the two security codes that appear on your form.
If the only changes to the pre-printed details relate to the edited register you can register online.
Registering by text
If the details on the registration form being delivered to your property are correct and there are no additions or alterations, you can register via the new text (SMS) service. You need to text the 14 digit number on your form to 80212. Texts are changed at your provider's standard rate and an acknowledgement message will be sent to your handset if your SMS registration is successful.
You cannot make any changes using the text (SMS) service and this includes not being able to make changes to the edited register. Therefore if you register via text all names that appear on the form will appear on the Edited version of the register.
Changes and alterations
For any households where there are changes and alterations you cannot register online or via freephone or text (SMS) so please post or fax your amended form, the fax number is 020 8871 8382.
If you need assistance in completing the form or registering online or via the freephone or text (SMS) service please phone the Electoral Registration Service on 020 8871 6023 (voice only), alternatively you can email us at electoral@wandsworth.gov.uk.
The two versions of the Register of Electors
You have some choice about who can buy details of your name and address. There are two versions of the register: the edited version and the full version.
When you fill in your registration form, you will be able to choose whether you want your details included in the edited register.
The full register lists everyone who is entitled to vote including those who have chosen not to appear on the edited register and is not for sale for commercial purposes. Only certain people and organisations can have copies of the full register, and they can only use it for electoral purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and checking your identity when you have applied for credit. It is a criminal offence for them to pass this information on to anyone else or to use it for any other purpose.
The edited register can be sold to anybody and used for any purpose. You can choose not to appear on this register by ticking the relevant box on the voter registration form.
The cost of the register for a paper copy is £10 plus £5 per 1,000 names. The cost in data format is £20 plus £1.50 per 1,000 names. The total cost payable will depend on how many names appear on the register for the area a person is purchasing. This can range from the largest area being the whole of Wandsworth to the smallest being a polling district within Wandsworth.
The cost of the full register is the same as for the edited register.
The Council does not have a say in how much the register costs to purchase. The cost is set out in the "Representation of the People" Acts and is the same across the United Kingdom.
If you do not return your form or do not register online or via the freephone service, all pre-printed names will appear on the edited register, which can be sold to anybody and used for any purpose.
If you register via text (SMS) service all names that appear on the form will appear on the edited version of the register.
Countries eligible
Below is a list of all the countries whose citizens are eligible to vote at all elections held in this country.
British Dependent Territories
Anguilla
Bermuda
British Antarctic Territory
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar*
Hong Kong (If holding a British Dependent Territories, British Nationals (Overseas) a or British Overseas passport)
Montserrat
Pitcairn Island
St. Helena and dependencies (Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha)
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands
*Citizens of Gibraltar who are resident in Gibraltar are entitled to register to vote at European Parliamentary elections in the South West Region. This is administered by the European Registration Officer for Gibraltar.
Other Commonwealth Countries
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
The Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belize
Botswana
Brunei Darussalam
Cameroon
Canada
Cyprus (also a member of the European Union)
Dominica
Fiji Islands*
The Gambia
Ghana
Grenada
Guyana
India
Jamaica
Kenya
Kiribati
Lesotho
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta (also a member of the European Union)
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
New Zealand
Nigeria
Pakistan*
Papua New Guinea
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Swaziland
United Republic of Tanzania
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
Uganda
United Kingdom
Vanuatu
Zambia
Zimbabwe*
* Citizens of Fiji, Pakistan and Zimbabwe retain their voting rights despite the countries having been suspended from the Commonwealth (at the time of writing)
European Union citizens are eligible to vote at Local elections in the United Kingdom and European Parliamentary elections, and below is a list of the European Union Member Countries whose citizens are eligible to vote in respect of elections held here.
European Union Countries
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus (also a member of the Commonwealth)
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Republic of Ireland (eligible to vote at all elections held in the United Kingdom)
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta (also a member of the Commonwealth)
The Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
Registering twice
You can register for more than one address if you are a student studying away from home, at college or university, you can register to vote at both your home and term-time address.
You can also register for two addresses if you have a second home and live there regularly as long as your second home is not in the London Borough of Wandsworth.
Both students and those with a second home have the right to vote in respect of both addresses at the time of a local election but must choose only one address to vote in respect of when Parliamentary elections are held.
Keeping your vote if moving abroad
If you are a British citizen and you are thinking of living or working abroad, you may still be able to register to vote at Parliamentary and European Parliamentary elections from your last address here. Your right to vote in this country's elections can last up to 15 years. Further notes and an application form can be downloaded below.
Overseas elector - guidance notes and application form (204 kb)
Other categories of electors
If you are a member of Her Majesty's armed forces, a Crown Servant or a British council employee you can apply to be included on the register of electors by completing one of the forms downloadable below.
Application to register/renew registration as a service voter (128 kb)
Application to register/renew registration as the husband, wife or civil partner of a service voter (128 kb)
Find out more information about registering as a Service Voter
Application to register/renew registration as a Crown servant/British council employee or husband, wife or civil partner (128 kb)
There are notes included on these forms, however, if you would like further information or advice please contact Electoral Services.
Anonymous registration
Certain people can now apply to be entered anonymously on the register of electors. More information.
Monthly amendments
The publication of the monthly register ceases in the months of October and November each year. However, monthly individual applications will still be accepted during this period but will not take effect until 1 December 2008 unless an election takes place during October or November. This is as a result of new legislation, which now enables registration up to 11 working days before an election takes place. Download the application form below.
Registration form (62 kb)
Only those people who live in the London Borough of Wandsworth should complete this form. If you live in another area visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk to be taken to your council's website.
It should be noted however, that the annual household registration form should still be completed and returned, this is required by law.
Help and advice
If you need help or advice you can phone or write to Electoral Services. You can sometimes make a special appointment for someone to call your home by phoning one of these numbers.
020 8871-6023 (voice only)
020 8871-6024 (textphone only, for people who are deaf or have partial hearing)
Please note that we can only assist with enquiries regarding addresses within the London Borough of Wandsworth.
Who to contact
The Electoral Services team is:
Chris Vickers - Electoral Services Manager
David Howard - Deputy Electoral Services Manager
Christine O'Brien
Barbara McCarthy
Yvonne Bent
Pat Walsh |
