Special Category Electors
Overseas Electors
British Citizens living abroad may register as an overseas
elector which will entitle them to vote in UK Parliamentary and
European Parliamentary elections only. You can
register as an overseas elector for 15 years from the
date that you were last registered in the UK.
Please contact the Electoral Services office to obtain an
application form in which you will need to complete a declaration
stating that you are a British citizen not resident in the UK and
the date that you ceased to be resident in the UK.
Declarations are valid for 12 months and we will send out a
reminder to renew the declaration a few months before the
expiry date. New applications only, must also be supported by
another British Citizen living abroad that is not a relation.
Service Electors
If you are a member of the H M Armed Forces (Army,
Royal Navy, Royal Air Force) or are a spouse or civil
partner of someone in the H M Armed Forces then you
can either register as a service voter or an ordinary
elector. Being registered as an ordinary elector means that
you have to register every year through the annual canvass, this is
suitable for people who are unlikely to move around or be posted
abroad. Being registered as a service voter allows you to be
registered at a fixed address for three years, even if you move
around or are posted abroad. The address you choose to be
registered at as a service voter must be in the UK and will either
be:
- the address where you or your spouse/partner are currently
living
- where you would be living if you were not in the Armed
Forces
- your last UK address before you took up post, if you cannot say
where you would be living
If you choose to register as a service voter please contact the
Electoral Services Office who will send you the appropriate
registration form. You can also choose to apply for a postal
vote or a proxy vote, you can vote by proxy for as long as you
remain registered a service voter. Please see our Absent Voting page for details on these methods
of voting.
Homeless, Mental Patients, Remand Prisoners
You can still register to vote even if you have no permanent
address by applying for a declaration of local
connection.
- Homeless people can register at an address where they commonly
spend a substantial amount of time (day or night), which could be a
hostel, park bench or a doorway. The Council offices may be
used as a postal address, for poll cards etc and they can choose to
vote by post or proxy.
- Patients who are in an institution for the treatment
of mental disorders, but not those detained for criminal
activity may register at the address of that institution or at the
address where they would be living, or have previously lived.
They can only vote by post or proxy.
- Any prisoner who is on remand and is being detained may
register by way of declaration at the address of the prison or at
the address at which they would be living or have previously
lived. They can only vote by post or proxy.
A declaration of local connection can be made at any time but it
will only be valid for a period of 12 months from the date on which
they take effect. Please contact the Electoral Services
Office who can provide the relevant application form.
Anonymous Registration
There is now a provision in the legislation (RPA 1983 sec 9B)
for people to register anonymously. Anonymous electors can
vote in the normal way however they will be allocated an electoral
number and will be shown in the Register of Electors as that
elector number with the letter 'N' but no name or address
shown. Anonymous registration is used when a person's (or
another member of their household) safety is a risk and each
application must be supported by one of the following:
- Court order/injunction which must be in force on the day of the
application
- Attestation by a qualifying officer - either the Chief of
Police of any police force in England and Wales, The Director
General of Security Services or the Serious Organised Crime Agency
or a Director of Adult Social Services.
Please note that the qualifying officer does not have to be
based in the same area as the applicant, but the attestation cannot
be delegated to a more junior person within the organisation.
Contact Details
Harlow Council
Electoral Services
Latton Bush Centre
Southern Way
Harlow
Essex CM18 7BL
Telephone: 01279 446042
Fax: 01279 446464
E-mail: registration@harlow.gov.uk
For further information please follow this link to the Electoral
Commission's website:- http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/default.aspx
Please note Harlow Council are not responsible for the content of
external websites