Home > 1.1.2.2 Periodic update of the register > UNITED KINGDOM - Opinion on the Electoral Law
 
 
 
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Paragraph 11
 
 
11.  The Electoral Registration Officers in England, Scotland and Wales have the duty to prepare, maintain and publish a register every year. For exercising their right to vote, the individuals must be on the electoral register. The registration system is based on an annual registration form that the householder must complete on behalf of all the eligible individuals residing in each property, and then to return this form to the registration office. The forms have an “effective date of 15 October” each year. The Representation of the People Act 2000 introduced a mechanism of voluntary “rolling” (continuous) registration, by which individuals can modify their details and personal information contained in the register outside the period of annual canvass, and can also notify their eligibility to register. The main problem of the current household system is that the electors are registered by address without any personal identifier (such as date of birth, signature or national insurance number).