Telephone canvassers to push local voter registration

A team of canvassers will be calling local residents this autumn to help Lichfield District Council complete its electoral register and encourage voter registration.

Over the summer Lichfield District Council started its annual canvass to compile a new and updated electoral register, which will be published on 1 December 2020. This included sending letters to all 46,543 households across the district.

To make sure no one is missed off the electoral register, the council sent reminders out to households that had not responded to the initial letter.

Where a response has still not been received, telephone canvassers will be calling properties over a two-week period from Monday 26 October, to encourage people to confirm the information needed.

Responding to the canvass is not the same as registering to vote but, if a response has been requested, it must be completed as it tells the council which eligible voters live in properties within Lichfield District.

The information also enables the council to send a separate invitation to register to anyone who is eligible to vote but not yet registered. Any new residents who are eligible to vote can also go online to register at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. 

Diane Tilley, Electoral Registration Officer for Lichfield District, said: “Using telephone canvassers will allow us to reach the properties that have still not responded to our annual canvass and to encourage voter registration for anyone who has not registered at their current address. 

“It is particularly important to remember, if you want to have your say at election time and help choose the people that make decisions that affect your everyday life, you must be registered to vote.

“The 6th of May 2021 is going to be a bumper election day with Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner elections and Staffordshire County Council elections taking place on the same day, alongside a small number of by–elections and a neighbourhood plan referendum that were delayed due to Covid-19, so it is extra important this year to make sure you are registered.

“With concerns around coronavirus, we are also encouraging people to choose to change their vote to a postal vote, although this remains a personal choice.”

For more information, please visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/elections or call Lichfield District Council’s elections team on 01543 308125.