Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are required to keep the register of eligible voters up to date. This is called the annual canvass and it takes place each year between July and November. The ERO’s contact every household to find out if the details on the electoral register are correct. The revised Register of Electors is then published on 1 December.
The Annual Canvass was reformed in 2020 and is running in a slightly different way to previous years. Please read the notes below so you are aware of the changes and how they might affect your household. It is hoped the reformed canvass process will be simpler and clearer for citizens.
As in previous years the annual canvass allows us to check:
It is particularly important that anyone who has moved address recently looks out for the form and checks whether they are registered.
You need to be included on the register if you are:
Stage 2 – Routes of communication
Your household will be contacted in different ways:
Please help us to save time and money by responding to this form as quickly as possible if you need to. Please do this online or by phone, if possible. Please only respond by post if you are unable to go online or telephone us. Please note even if you do not want to register to vote, you still need to respond to your canvass communication giving the details of everyone at your property that is eligible to register.
We will write to you with a form and please read it carefully. The letter will tell you whether you need to respond or not. In all cases, if any details have changed on your household form you will be required to respond. (NB: Some electors will not be required to respond if there are no changes but the form will make this clear if you fall in to this category.)
If you need to respond the easiest way is to online, by visiting www.householdresponse.com/reading and entering the security code printed on your letter. You can also respond to us by phone on 0800 197 9871.
If you have previously given us a telephone number, we may use that to contact you to ask you to confirm the details of your household if you have not responded to our first enquiry by post.
If we haven’t heard back from your, we may send a canvasser to knock on your door. Each canvasser will be carrying official ID.
If you have responded promptly to the first form you should not receive a door knock. The canvasser will have a copy of the form that each household or individual needs to complete and the canvasser will provide all help and assistance to ensure forms are correctly completed.
If the canvasser calls at your address when you are not home they will leave a form for you to complete. Please complete it straightaway using one of the services as listed on the form. Once a response has been recorded, the canvasser will not need to call at your address again.
There are many reasons to register including:
If you have responded to a canvass communication and realise that you made a mistake, please contact Electoral Services. Email: elections@reading.gov.uk or phone: 0118 937 3717 and advise which information was entered incorrectly and what the correct information should be.
You still need to respond. If no one is listed on the form, please call free on 0800 197 9871 or online at www.householdresponse.com/reading (you will need the security codes from your form) to confirm the property is still empty.
If someone’s details are on the form, but the property is now empty – you can either:
If nobody in your household is eligible to register to vote, you still need to notify us by responding to your canvass communication. You can do so online www.householdresponse.com/reading
If the canvass communication you have received is already blank, you can also either:
If you are unable to use one of the automated services, please amend the paper form and return it.
Students can register both at their home address and university address. Students are entitled to vote at local government elections at home and in Reading. However, they are only able to vote once at a national election, so they can choose where to vote, either in Reading or at their home address.
Please add the names of any students who wish to register in Reading. If all students are registered at home, and do not wish to register in Reading, tick the “Other Reason” box (in the “no one at address is eligible” section) and state “Student Accommodation, all students registered at home address”.
You can respond by going online at www.householdresponse.com/reading and following the instructions; you will need the security code from your form to do this. Otherwise, complete the form and send it back in the envelope provided (no stamp needed).
All the information received during the canvass will be used to compile a revised electoral register on 1 December 2023. To be included on the register you must be registered and have returned your completed Invitation to register form by 22 November 2023.
Please read all of the information sent to you. If you still need advice, please contact Electoral Services on elections@reading.gov.uk or the Electoral Services helpline on:- 0118 937 3717.