Aylesbury Vale residents who are not yet registered to vote in the May elections have less than a month left to register.
The local government and parliamentary elections are just over six weeks away, with 59 seats in all district wards being contested alongside the Aylesbury and Buckingham constituencies in the General Election. All parish council elections are being held on the same day.
If people are not registered to vote they will be unable to have their say in these elections unless they take action now, before it is too late.
Aylesbury Vale District Council is urging those who are not yet on the electoral register to apply to register by the deadline of 20 April to protect their right to vote on Election Day – 7 May 2015.
Chris Sheard, Electoral Services Manager, said: “Time is now running short to make sure you can take part in these elections, so I’d encourage everyone in Aylesbury Vale to take action now if they aren’t registered to vote. Those particularly at risk of missing the chance to vote are people who have moved house recently, and who mistakenly assume they are automatically registered at their new address because they pay council tax. The two processes are completely separate.
“Online registration makes registering to vote easier and more convenient than ever before. It only takes a few minutes to do at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and people can access it through their computer, smartphone or tablet.”
AVDC is particularly keen to remind young people that they need to be registered by the closing date to be able to cast their vote in May.
Sixteen and 17-year-olds can register themselves now so that they will be able to vote as soon as they turn 18. Students who are living away at university can also register at both their term time address and home address.
Under the new Individual Electoral Registration system, which was introduced last summer, everyone is responsible for registering themselves. Those registering will need to prove their identity by providing their name, address, National Insurance number and date of birth when applying.
Those who would prefer a postal vote, rather than going along to a polling station, need to be registered individually before they can apply for a postal vote. The closing date for postal vote applications is Tuesday 21 April, at 5pm.
For further information about voting in the May elections, visit www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/elections or call the elections team on 01296 585807.
