A Fifth of North Norfolk Homes Have Not Registered Electors

A fifth of North Norfolk's households have not registered eligible residents as electors following the annual canvass.

As of 15 October, as many as 10,000 registration forms had not yet been returned to NNDC, representing about 20% of the District's 51,000 households. The potential electorate in North Norfolk is about 81,000 people.

These forms must be returned to the Council's Electoral Registration Officer by Friday, 4 November if those people are to be included in the revised Register of Electors, which is published on 1 December.

People who do not register are unable to vote, and may also have difficulty obtaining credit, as the Register is used by banks, building societies and other financial institutions as proof of residence while carrying our credit checks.

The Council has a statutory duty to produce a complete and accurate Register of Electors, and the consistently high election turnouts in North Norfolk show how the District Council's efforts in canvassing electors pay off in promoting local democracy.

While there is a system of 'rolling' registration in place in North Norfolk - as there is everywhere else in the country - the full register, produced once a year in December after the autumn canvass, is the version that is made available to credit reference agencies. And depending upon what time of the month people register through the 'rolling' registration process, it may then be six weeks or more after applying until they are eligible to vote.

So it is important that people complete and return the autumn canvass form if they wish to get the full benefit of being registered.

Anyone who has not registered, who has mislaid their canvass form, or who has recently moved into North Norfolk, should call the NNDC Electoral Services team on 01263 516046 or 516317.

ENDS