Electoral Registration Annual Canvass

Responding to the canvass does not mean you are automatically registered to vote.  If you add anyone new to your canvass form we send out a separate registration form to vote, alternatively you can register on the GOV.UK website. 

By law the Council has to carry out an annual ‘canvass’ of electors every year to ensure the electoral register is as complete and accurate as possible.  The canvass runs from July to November and the revised electoral register, incorporating the changes made during the canvass, will be published on 1 December.  You need to be on the electoral register to vote in elections. Being registered can also improve your credit rating. 

Responding to the Annual Canvass

As part of the annual canvass we will contact every property in East Herts from mid-August onwards.  This will be by email or by post depending on what information we hold.  The email or letter will explain what action, if any, you must take.  If you are required to respond, you will have three weeks to do so before a reminder is issued.  Households who do not respond to a reminder may be visited by one of our canvassers.   

Please respond online wherever possible.  The website you will be asked to visit is Household Response. You will need security codes to respond and these will be included in the email or letter we send you.  Further information on the different contacts methods below:

 

Recruitment is now open for the 2025 Annual Canvass to help keep East Herts' electoral register up to date. 

We need people who are:

  • Available to work evenings and weekends
  • Physically fit, with good mobility and stamina
  • Excellent communicators who can engage with a wide range of residents
  • Well-organised and able to manage their own schedule
  • Able to maintain confidentiality and represent the Council professionally
  • Aged 18 or over
  • Familiar with the local area (desirable)
  • Car owners with a valid driving licence and business insurance (desirable)


What the role involves:

  • Visiting designated households, often multiple times, to collect information
  • Assisting residents in completing Household Enquiry Forms (HEF) and Invitations to Register (ITR)
  • Confirming property status (e.g. vacant, occupied)
  • Planning and managing your canvassing route
  • Attending a mandatory training session in Hertford on Wednesday, 14 October 2025
  • Returning completed forms weekly and responding to follow-up queries

Please note that this role involves substantial walking, occasional access issues in multi-storey buildings, and working in varying weather conditions. It also requires the ability to handle occasionally challenging conversations with professionalism.
 

This is a paid role: 

  • Training attendance - £40.00
  • Round fee with a minimum of three visits to Wallfields to return completed forms - £60.00 
  • Completed Forms - £2.50
  • Knock & Drop Forms (forms where there is no answer at address so posted through letterbox) – 25p per form
     

If you're interested in making a difference in your local community and supporting the democratic process, we’d love to hear from you.

Email your expression of interest to: canvass@eastherts.gov.uk
 

If you receive an email from us it will come from the following email address: electors@eastherts.gov.uk.  Please follow the link in the email to check the information that we currently hold for your address on the electoral register and amend this as necessary; for example by deleting anyone who is no longer resident or adding the name of anyone who is resident but is not currently registered.  
   
If you receive an email regarding an address where you no longer live, you can use www.householdresponse.com/eastherts to inform us who has moved out.  
 

If we do not receive a response to our email, or if we do not hold an email address for any member of the household, we must send a canvass form to the property by post.  

The canvass form will explain what action, if any, you must take.  If you are required to respond, please do so as soon as possible by visiting www.householdresponse.com/eastherts and using the security codes included in the form to confirm the information and/or make any necessary changes.

If there are no changes to make you can also respond by phone or text using the contact numbers on the form, or if you prefer you can post the form to Civica Election Services, London, N81 1ER.  
 

If you are required to respond to the annual canvass and do not do so, we will make further attempts to contact you by email or post.  From October 2024 our team of canvassers will be visiting properties that have not responded in order to obtain the necessary information.  Canvassers will carry photographic ID badges issued by East Herts Council.

New Electors

Please note that adding a person’s name to a canvass form or online response will not automatically add him or her to the electoral register.  The person will also need to complete their registration by going online to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or by completing the application form that we will send them if they do not register online.

Please note that it is a legal requirement to apply to register to vote when invited by the Electoral Registration Officer to do so. 

If you have any questions regarding registering to vote, please email electors@eastherts.gov.uk or call 01279 655261. 

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