How to vote in the UK general election
Costa Blanca News spoke with Lorraine Hardy (LAH) of the Labour International Costa Blanca branch about the process of registering to vote.
CBN: Who can register to vote in the forthcoming general election in the UK?
LAH: All British citizens who have at some stage lived in the UK can register to vote. If you have previously been registered to vote in the UK the form can be completed at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote in about five minutes. Before you get started, have your UK NI number and your passport close by – you’ll need it as you get further into the form.
CBN: What if some of our readers have never been registered to vote in the UK?
LAH: Then registration may take a bit longer. If you have not been registered as an Overseas Voter in the UK before you will have to supply proof of identity and the UK address at which you last lived.
You may also have to supply scans of ID documents like your passport or driving licence. Documents for proof of your previous address include bank or building society statement, a utility bill, credit card statement, a DWP benefits (or benefits entitlement) statement, mortgage statement, a P45 or P60 form, pension statement, council tax statement, etc. You might want to collect these documents and scan some of them before you start the online form.
CBN: What if I don’t have any of these documents showing the correct address?
LAH: If you don’t have any of these documents there is a further process called 'Attestation' which can be used to help you to register. Potential Labour voters can contact Labour International at General-Elec tion@LabourInternational.net for help.
CBN: Some of our readers will have been Overseas Voters at the 2019 General Election – will they still be able to vote?
LAH: Probably not. They will need to re-register. The old registration system required Overseas Voters to re-register each year, so if they last registered for the 2019 General Election it will be out of date by now. The new system registers a person for three years. CBN readers can check with their local Electoral Registration Office to see if their registration is current.
CBN: How do I find my Local Electoral Registration Office?
LAH: Go to www.gov.uk/ register-to-vote - scroll down the screen to ‘Check if you’re already registered’. Click on ‘Local Electoral Registration Office’, type in the postcode at which you were last registered – click the green button ‘find’ and you will be provided with the postal address of the electoral registration office, website, phone number and email address. Send an email containing the postal address you used to register as an Overseas Voter and ask them to confirm when your current registration expires.
CBN: As I will probably not be in the UK on election day, can I have a postal vote?
LAH: Yes, a postal vote is an option but I wouldn’t advise it. This is because of the limited amount of time between the Electoral Registration Offices sending out postal votes and the date of return. In previous General Elections postal votes have arrived in Spain, France, etc. 24 hours before the election or even after the election. You will recall that in the recent Dutch general election over a 1,000 postal votes were not registered.
CBN: So, how do I cast my vote?
LAH: My recommendation is to use a Proxy. A Proxy is someone who will vote on your behalf in the UK. It can be a friend or family member or, if you no longer have contacts near your previous UK address, Labour International can help you to find a proxy voter. Contact them at General-Elec tion@LabourInternational.net
If any CBN readers have problems with the registration process Labour International would be pleased to hear of them, so they can be raised with the Electoral Commission.