Drive to get Selebians registered to vote ahead of May's General Election

The campaign is a nationwide voter registration drive taking place this Thursday. It is being run by Bite the Ballot who are aiming to raise peoples awareness of the importance of being registered to vote and how people should go about getting on their local register. 

In a bid to promote the event, Selby District Council will be asking every caller its customer contact centre if they are registered to vote. There'll be help on hand for those whose details are not logged and staff will be advising people of the ways in which they can register ahead of the poll day.

Mary Weastell, the Council's Chief Executive and also Returning Officer in polls held in the District said, "This is an excellent opportunity for Selby District Council to raise awareness of this year's General and District Elections and to make sure that residents are registered to be able to successfully submit their vote in May."

The drive follows changes to the country's electoral registration system that came into force in June last year. The new system, called Individual Electoral Registration (IER), makes it the responsibility of each individual to register themselves if they wish to vote. This replaces the old system under which the 'head of the household' registering everyone.

The Council says the new method will help combat voter fraud as people will need to verify their identity before they can register. As part of the process those registering will be required to submit thier date of birth and national insurance number as proof of identity.

Those not already registered or anyone who may need to re-register (for example those who have moved house or moved to a new area) can register by contacting the council on 01757 705 101, by emailing electoralregistration@selby.gov.uk to request a paper form or online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

The last date to register to be able to vote in this year's General and District Elections is Monday, April 20th.