A change of address is a change of registration
Most items on a moving checklist involve companies. Registering to vote involves a statutory register, and it matters for elections and, according to GOV.UK, for other uses of the full register. This article summarises GOV.UK guidance on registering to vote, the electoral register and the open register, applying for a postal vote and contacting the electoral registration office. It covers the whole UK and flags where Northern Ireland works differently. It is general information, not legal advice.
Re-registering after a move
GOV.UK says that people normally only need to register once, not for every election, but that they need to register again if they change their name, address or nationality. Registration is done online and usually takes about five minutes. The service asks for a National Insurance number, although a person without one can still register. The electoral register lists the names and addresses of everyone registered, and GOV.UK says the way to update details such as a change of address is to use the register to vote service if living in the UK.
Checking whether you are already registered
GOV.UK says people in England, Scotland or Wales who want to check whether they are on the register should contact their electoral registration office, which is found through the local council. In Northern Ireland, the Am I Registered service is used to check, and the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI) handles registration matters. The rules and forms in Northern Ireland differ, including paper forms for some applications.
The annual canvass and the fine
From July each year, electoral registration offices contact households to check that the details on the register are correct and may tell people to register if they are not already. GOV.UK calls this the annual canvass and says there is no annual canvass in Northern Ireland. The contact may be by post, email, phone or a visit to the door.
GOV.UK also says that a person who is asked to register by an electoral registration officer, and meets the conditions for registering, must do so. A person who does not could be fined up to £1,000, but will not be fined if there is a valid reason, such as a long stay in hospital or severe learning difficulties. New residents who receive a canvass letter therefore have a legal reason to respond, and cannot treat it as junk mail.
The full register and the open register
There are two versions of the register. GOV.UK says the full version, which lists everyone’s name and UK address unless they are registered anonymously, is used for elections and referendums and cannot be opted out of. It can be used only for electoral administration such as sending poll cards, campaigning by candidates and parties, preventing and detecting crime, checking applications for loans or credit, and jury summoning in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The open register, known as the edited register in Northern Ireland, is the version available to anyone who wants to buy a copy. GOV.UK says a person can opt out of it, using the register to vote service even if already registered, or by contacting the electoral registration office in England, Scotland or Wales or EONI in Northern Ireland. Opting out does not affect the right to vote, and details still appear on the full register unless the person registered anonymously. A move is a natural moment to make that choice, since the registration form is being completed anyway.
Postal votes after a move
A postal vote is tied to an address. GOV.UK says a person must be registered to vote in the UK before applying for a postal vote, and that someone who moves house must re-register at the new address and then reapply for a postal vote for that address. It gives a deadline of 11 working days before the election, by 5pm on that day, for applying, changing or stopping a postal vote arrangement. A person who is away from home when the ballot pack would be delivered can ask for it to be sent to a different address, and the same deadline applies. In Northern Ireland, GOV.UK says the rules are different, and applications use a paper form rather than the online service available in England, Scotland and Wales.
Second addresses
GOV.UK says it is sometimes possible to be registered at two addresses, for example a student with a home address and a term-time address, though a person can only vote once in any election. A household in the middle of a move, with keys to two properties, should register at the address where they actually live and use the electoral registration office if unsure whether a second registration is permitted.
The bottom line
Moving home means registering to vote again at the new address, an online task that takes about five minutes in most of the UK. Households should respond to the annual canvass, consider opting out of the open register, and re-apply for any postal vote arrangement. Northern Ireland has its own registration process, with paper forms and no annual canvass, so residents there should use the EONI route.