Council and democracy

Have you registered yet?

The Register of Electors is a list of all residents eligible to vote. It is updated annually and the new register is set to be published on 1 December 2008. Registration forms were posted through the letterboxes of all 144,000 homes in the borough in August and need to be returned shortly in order to be included in the new register.

Canvassers have now begun visiting addresses where forms have yet to be returned in order to provide any assistance needed in completing them. By law all those eligible to vote must complete and return the form every year. If you do not register you could be fined up to £1,000.

In addition to allowing the right to vote in all elections, being on the register is important in many other ways. If your details are not included you may have difficultly obtaining credit or opening a bank account as the information within the register is used by credit referencing agencies to verify your address.

Forms can be returned by post or fax and if there are no changes to the address details, residents can respond by telephone or via the internet. Replacement forms can be provided for any that have been lost.

Jon Rouse, Croydon Council's chief executive and electoral registration officer for the borough, said: "Checking the details on your electoral registration form takes just a couple of minutes but it is time well spent."
 
The next scheduled elections are for the European Parliament on 4 June 2009.

For more information telephone 020 8726 6300 or email electoral.services@croydon.gov.uk