Have you registered to vote?

While the final registration deadline is 12
days before the referendum, administrative
complications and the need for expats to
arrange a postal or proxy vote in a second
stage, mean that the Electoral Commission
recommends Britons overseas apply no later
than May 16, while the British Community
Committee (BCC) in France says the
end of April is preferable.
BCC committee member Christopher
Chantrey said: “Those of us prevented by
the 15 year rule rely on those who are not
prevented, registering to represent us. So
that’s another reason why those not affected
should really get on with it and do it.”
There are roughly 2.2million Britons in
other EU countries and 5million abroad –
but only 106,000 registered to vote at last
year’s general election.
The announcement of the June 23 EU referendum
date saw a spike of registrations
– with 3,500 in one day alone - however
a large majority of eligible expats remain
unregistered.
Applications to register to vote can be
done in five minutes with your passport
and National Insurance numbers at
www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
If you voted in last year’s General Election
you may still be registered, however you
should check this as a matter of urgency
and, in a second stage, ensure you apply for
your chosen method of voting from France
(contact details for elections offices may be
found at: tinyurl.com/AMV-find or gov.uk/
get-on-electoral-register).
A proxy is someone in the UK who can
physically vote for you in your old constituency.
The person does not have to be a close
relative.
It is also possible to ask for a ‘postal proxy’
vote for someone in the UK to receive a
postal ballot for you for them to send back
in the UK post if you are concerned about
delays due to international post.
The Electoral Commission says that following
problems with postal ballots being
received in time for last year’s General Election
they are asking that where it may not
be realistic to despatch a postal ballot to an
expat this person should be advised of this
by their elections office and invited to appoint
a proxy instead.
However they add that, compared to last
year, there will be more time for postal ballots
to be sent out – elections offices are being
directed to send overseas ones about a
month before polling day.
They are also being directed to include
correct international postage on envelopes for the ballots’ return.