Politics

Mastering Politics: How to Register to Vote

5 April 2018

By Lauren E. White

Politics is not an easy place to work your way around, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The first step of mastering politics is understanding how to register to vote, so you’re lucky we have a whole guide to doing just that below.

Eligibility

Before you go to register to vote, it’s important to know if you’re actually entitled to do it. To be eligible to vote in UK elections, you must be:

— 18 years old (or 18 before a certain date if there is an election coming soon).

— A British or Irish citizen, or a Commonwealth citizen who has qualified to vote in the UK.

— Living at an address in the UK. If you are living abroad, you must have been registered to vote in the last 15 years.

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What you need to register to vote

In order to actually register to vote, you need to have a few things, including:

— Your National Insurance number.

— Your British passport if you’re living abroad.

Where you register to vote

You can register to vote by post, but it is much easier to do it online. This is the only website you can use to register to vote (www.gov.uk/register-to-vote). Once you have done this, you’re registered to vote and whenever there’s an election, you will receive your polling card or your postal vote package if you have registered to vote via post.

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How to check if you’re registered to vote

If you are unsure about whether you are registered to vote, you have to contact your local Electoral Registration Officer at your council. You can find the address of yours here.

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