Why should I register?

Legally the Electoral Registration Officer has to obtain information for every household each year, and legally the householder is required to provide it. It is therefore an offence to withhold information or supply misleading information.

The Register of Electors is the definitive document about who is allowed to vote. If you are not on it, you can not vote. Although some people may not be too worried about that, at least if you are on the register you have the choice about whether to vote or not, e.g. if there were to be a snap referendum on any matter. The right to cast your vote is a right which was not always easily won over the years, and even now is not available in all parts of the world. Elections, especially local elections, often come down to a dead heat or a difference of only a few votes between candidates and parties. Every one counts.

On a wider level, the register is used by a number of people for all kinds of reasons. The edited register aims to prevent widespread abuse of the data for commercial gain, but perhaps the widest legitimate use of the full register is by the credit reference agencies when assessing credit ratings. It is one of a number of tests, but people who are not on the register often have difficulty obtaining loans, mortgages or simply opening a bank account.