Council to assist in encouraging the public to register to vote
02 July 2021
The Electoral Office is required by law to refresh the Electoral Register for Northern Ireland and the current register expired on 30 June. As a result of this, all eligible electors in Northern Ireland are now required to re-register with effect from 1 July.
In an effort to get this important message out to the wider community, Derry City and Strabane District Council is working with the NI Electoral Office to facilitate static canvass sites at various Council premises to assist members of the public who are unable to register online and have no access to the internet or to a computer.
Electoral office staff will be located at a number of Council venues including the Guildhall, the Foyle Arena and Brooke Park Leisure Centre over the coming months, to assist the public.
For the month of July , the staff will be available as follows: - the Foyle Arena, 02, 09, 16, 23 and 30 July from 2-8pm; Brooke Park Leisure Centre, 05, 19 and 26 July from 2-8pm and the Guildhall, 06, 20 and 27 July from 2-8pm.
A kiosk will also be in place at the Council Offices on Strand Road, Derry and Derry Road, Strabane so that members of the public who may not have access to the Internet can do so.
The static canvass centres are open at locations in electoral wards identified by data analysts that show the lowest level of response. The venues chosen are also easily accessible so that members of the public that may not have access to the Internet can get assistance.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Alderman Graham Warke said the Council was pleased to be working alongside the Electoral Office to get this important message out and to provide support to those who need help to register.
He said: "It is hugely important that the public are made aware that the current Electoral Register has to be updated and all eligible electors in Northern Ireland have to re-register their vote. The Council is pleased to be in a position to facilitate static canvass sites at some of our venues and to reach out the public to offer assistance to register"
Encouraging those who don't have access to the internet and are unable to register online, to come to one of the Council venues, Mayor Warke said trained Electoral office staff will be on site to offer assistance and provide support.
The Chief Electoral Officer said "Our thanks go out to Derry City and Strabane District Council for their work in facilitating our static canvass to ensure that everyone can register to vote easily. It takes less than 5 minutes to register online but it you don't have access to the internet you can call at these sites and our staff will be glad to help you to register"
The Chief Electoral Officer advised that there are two ways to register to vote or update your registration details: You can register online via
www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. This is the quickest and easiest way to register or update your details or you can complete a paper registration form and return it to the Electoral Office (see the
Contact Us page). The form can be downloaded below or
contact us and we will post one out to you.
The canvass form is available in several different languages and large print format (for reference purposes only) on the
Form Translations page. If you require a form in Braille or audio format please
Contact us.
To register you will need to have your National Insurance Number available. You can find your National Insurance Number on your payslip, P60, National Insurance Number card or letters about tax, pensions and benefits. If you still cannot find your National Insurance Number you can request written confirmation of it from the National Insurance Contribution Office (phone 0300 200 3500 or visit
www.hmrc.gov.uk).
You must register even if you are currently on the Electoral Register.