Register to Vote or check if registered
You can Register to Vote on the Gov.uk website. Please note, just because you pay your Council Tax with the Local Authority, it does not qualify you to vote, you will need to register.
You will need your National Insurance number, which can be found on your national insurance card, or in official paperwork such as payslips or letters about benefits of tax credits. If you can't find your national insurance number, you can find a lost national insurance number on the Gov.uk website.
Checking if you're registered to vote
If you would like to find out if you are registered to vote please visit our Contact us page
You must be eligible to register. Please go to Who can register to vote - Electoral Commission website for more information and to see if you are eligible.
Voter ID
The UK government has introduced a requirement for voters to show photo ID when voting at a polling station at elections. This new requirement was applied for the first time in England at the local elections on Thursday 4 May 2023. Visit our Voter ID page for requirements and additional information.
The Open and Electoral Register
The Council holds two registers of voters - an open register and the full register.
The Electoral Register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote. This register is used for electoral purposes - such as making sure only eligible people can vote - and for other limited purposes specified in law. The personal data in the register must always be processed in line with data-protection legislation.
The Open Register is an extract of the electoral register, but is not used for elections. It can be bought by any person, company or organisation. For example, it is used by businesses and charities to confirm name and address details. The personal data in the register must always be processed in line with data-protection legislation. When you register you will automatically be on this register unless you inform us that you wish to be taken off. Each individual must inform us themselves that they wish to be taken off of the open register. To be removed, please see our Removal from the Open Register Form
Once you have registered to vote, there are different options of How to Vote. For more information, please see our How to Vote page
Viewing the register
You can view the open register at either of our offices in Hertford or Stortford.
To view the full electoral register you will need to call electoral services on 01279 655261 to book an appointment at our Hertford office. This has to be viewed under supervision and only handwritten notes can be made at the time of viewing. Photocopying of the full register is not allowed.
The registers are subdivided by Polling District, and are then listed in street name order. It gives the names of all electors registered at each address.
Monthly updates to the register
Electoral services make monthly updates to the register up until our Annual canvass of households - electoral register update that starts September. Between September and December, the register is not updated as the Annual Canvass takes place. Any amendments made in this process will show in the register of 1 December. The credit reference agencies receive a copy of all monthly updates and the full revised register so they can update their records.
Your name may take up to six weeks to show on the register of electors, depending on when you register.
Securing your vote
In order to ensure the process is correct, up to date and compliant we do a great deal of work such as
- we write to all electors to confirm we have added or amended their details to the register
- we carry out regular legal reviews of any electors we have reason to believe have moved away so to maintain an accurate register
- we conduct reviews as necessary to query an elector's nationality or other entitlement to be registered such as right to remain in this country
- we cross-check other council databases as necessary to determine registration
- we seek supporting evidence such as to see an elector's passport of driving licence if their details do not match with the Department of Work and Pensions database to satisfy the identity of an elector before they are added to the register
- we seek to refresh all absent voters signature every 5 years and with all postal vote applications we gather the electors data of birth and signature and write to confirm we have processed such requests
- we liaise with the police about any suspicious registering or voting activities
Data Privacy and to unsubscribe
The Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer are data controllers who use data supplied for the purpose of elections and registering to vote. For more information on the information collected and how we use, it, please see our Elections Privacy Notice. If you no longer wish to receive emails regarding elections, please use our Unsubscribe from receiving elections emails form.
