Annual voter registration forms will be sent out this week and East Suffolk residents are being asked to respond promptly in order to help protect public money.

To ensure that the Register of Electors is accurate and up to date, East Suffolk Council is required to undertake an Annual Canvass of all households in the district. From today (Tuesday 6 August), all properties in East Suffolk will receive a ‘Household Enquiry Form’ which is pre-printed with the names of all occupants currently registered to vote in each household. Residents are required by law to either confirm or update the details of anyone at the address who is eligible to vote in the UK. This information is used to compile the Register of Electors and enables those residents to vote in future elections.

Anyone living at your address who is 16 years old or over should also be included on the form so they are eligible to vote as soon as they turn 18.

Those who voted in the recent elections will still need to respond to their Household Enquiry Form – by Monday 2 September 2019.

Stephen Baker, Electoral Registration Officer for East Suffolk, said:

“Canvassing each household in the area is a costly exercise and we would ask that East Suffolk residents respond to their form before 2 September. This not only ensures you can vote in future elections but also saves money by reducing the need for further reminders or door-to-door visits.

We would also encourage residents to respond using one of the quick and easy automated methods; online, by calling the dedicated number or by text message. These methods take just a few minutes and are more cost effective than posting back the paper form – it’s also better for the environment!”

The easiest and quickest way to respond is online, by using the automated free-phone number or text message service. Full details about how to respond are on the form.

Any households which have not replied by 2 September will be sent a reminder and if a response is still not received, door-to-door canvassing will be necessary in order to collect the information required.

Once responses have been received from all properties, an up-to-date Register of Electors can be published.  For more details about the annual canvass and how to respond, please visit www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk/annual-electoral-canvass.

Residents can respond to their form as follows:

• Confirm or update your details online
• call free-phone 0800 060 8798
• text 07860 018386
• return the form by post