Electoral Registration
Why do you need to be on the Electoral Register?
You need to be on the register to be able to vote. You are not automatically registered, even if you pay council tax. It can affect your credit rating if you are not registered to vote.
Who can register?
You can register if you are 16 or over (but you cannot vote until you are 18).
A British, Irish Republic or Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of a European Union country living in the UK or a citizen of the Channel Islands or Isle of Man living in the UK. Find out if your nationality qualifies by selecting Who Can Vote from the right hand menu.
You need to register at the address you are living at unless you are overseas, in the armed forces or a crown servant. If you are a British citizen resident overseas or in the Armed Services or are a Crown Servant serving overseas, find out about registering to vote by selecting Other Categories of Elector from the right hand menu.
Certain people can now apply to be entered on the electoral register anonymously. To find out more about registering to vote anonymously select anonymous registration from the right hand menu.
How to apply
A Rolling Registration form is available to download from this page via the right hand menu. This will enable you to register for the next monthly update to the published register.
The Edited Register – what is it?
When completing the form you can also have some choice over who can buy details of your name and address.
There are two versions of the electoral register, the full register and the edited register.
The full register is used for elections, preventing and detecting crime and checking applications for credit. It lists the names of everyone who is entitled to vote in the Lancaster District area.
The edited register is available for general sale and can be used for any purpose including commercial activities such as marketing.
Your details will appear on the full register but you can choose not have your name showing on the edited register.
How to vote (at the polling station, by post or by proxy)
The Electoral Services office also deals with postal and proxy applications. Find out more by selecting Different ways to Vote from the right hand menu.