Don’t miss out on your chance to vote

(Date of issue: Tuesday, 08 September 2009)

Electors in the Carlisle City Council area are being given the opportunity to re-register using a Freephone line and by logging on to the internet.

The annual electoral register update began last week when registration forms were sent to all 49,000 households in the city. Both services are available until Friday, 27 November.

Households whose electoral details remain unchanged can dial the free telephone number or visit a dedicated website – www.registerbyinternet.com/carlisle   - instead of returning their form.

Households wishing to add or change names on the register will need to follow the usual procedure and complete the registration form and return it to the Electoral Registration Officer at the Civic Centre, Carlisle.

All pre-printed registration forms include a two-part security code, which will need to be keyed-in as part of the registration process. The Freephone service is a fully automated touch-tone system and, like the internet service, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Both systems also accommodate the new ‘opt-out’ rules (introduced in 2002), allowing electors to add or remove their names from the edited version of the register, which is available for general sale. The systems also allow users to request postal vote application forms.

Carlisle’s participation forms part of a nationwide project involving over 100 Councils in collaboration with Electoral Reform Services. Carlisle City Council introduced the option of telephone registration in 2003 and last year over 7,000 households used the facility.

The register being updated this autumn will be used at all elections and any referendums in the City Council’s area during the period 1 December 2009 to 30 November 2010. This will include City and Parish Council elections on Thursday, 6 May next year and is also likely to include the next Parliamentary general election.