Genealogy Chat

Hi Kath,

Apology accepted. I agree with you about voting, although I don't know how it could be enforced.

Hi Andysmum

I apologize - I was wrong (I did say I wasn't sure) lol.

It is now compulsory to register but this only became the case in 2001 (see The Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001).

Personally I think voting should be compulsory too.

Kath. x

Kath,

I didn't respond to your post before because I was going by memory and might have remembered wrong.

Today I received the Electoral Registration Form for 2012/13. On the outside of the envelope in big red capitals it says YOU ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO REPLY and on the back of the form it says

PENALTIES
The information on the Electoral Registration Form is required by law for the Register of Electors 2012/13. Any individual who refuses to supply information is liable on summary conviction to a maximum fine of £1000.

Quite how they catch up with you if you aren't sent a form, I don't know, particularly if you keep changing addresses. There is another comment on the back of the form, which is that the Electoral Roll is used by credit agencies, and you might have difficulty when applying for credit if you don't fill it in.

From 2002 to 2006 I was not listed on any Electrol Roll...I was either living in pubs or had a room in a shared house so I doubt whether I was included, well no one gave me a voting card...

If you google the name of the person you are looking for then look at the 192 listing you may find the person also who they are living with, and part of the address will show like Liverpool, L13

sorry .............


I didn't mean opt out of being on the Electoral Roll, but opt out of having your name etc publicly available.





so .................... your information in the UK is more easily available than ours.




sylvia

Andysmum

I'm not sure you are correct. I think you are confusing the Electoral Register with the National Census.

It is a legal requirement to fill in the Census every 10 years. However you only need to fill in the Electoral Register if you want to be eligible to vote.

Those people who DO decide to fill in the Electoral Register can then decide whether or not to have their name excluded from the copy that is available to commercial companies and libraries.

Kath. x

Sylvia,

No you can't opt out. It is a legal requirement to complete the form each year when it arrives.

But you CAN opt out of having your information publicly available. There are two registers - a full one, available to people with appropriate reasons eg police, tax office - and a shortened version, which is available to everybody, and is in the local library.

I don't know how many opt out, but 50% is probably a fair guess.

I thought I had read that somewhere!


and also that I had read that about 50% of people do opt out ........ is that correct??




You see, we don't have published Electoral Rolls here, at least not in the sense that you have them in the UK.


We have a National Register of Electors, and the information on there is used to produce the Voters Lists used during elections.

It is a permanent, continually-updated database of Canadians who are qualified to vote in federal elections and referendums. It contains the name, address, gender and date of birth of each elector, as well as a unique identifier to help track changes to the elector's record.

Elections Canada provides voters lists (containing name, address and unique identifier) to members of Parliament, registered political parties and candidates, who may use the information as authorized under the Elections Act. The Guidelines on Use of the Lists of Electors explain what information is shared with members of Parliament, political parties and candidates, when it is shared, how they are authorized to use it, and their responsibility to safeguard this information.

Voters lists are also provided to the Elections agencies of all the provinces and territories, and to some major municipalities

The information contained in the National Register of Electors is kept secure and used for authorized purposes only. Employees' access to the Register is carefully controlled, and the database itself is physically secured and protected by hardware, software, firewalls and procedural controls.


A voter can opt out of having his/her records kept, but then has to take responsibility for getting themselves registered at the time of an election.


NO-ONE else is allowed to see the Elections Register





sylvia

Yes, indeed they can...........I do!

can people opt out of having their names shown on an Electoral Register???

Hi Kath,

Thanks very much that's helped a lot. :-)

Thanks x

You can't see recent electoral registers online unless you subscribe to certain websites (i.e. 192.com).

Electoral registers give the names and addresses of anyone eligible to vote who has registered - so anyone over 18. They don't give any other information.

Kath. x

Is it possible to view these records online? And can anyone tell me what info do they hold? Or does anyone have access to them.

Thanks, Lou