- 1. Service
Description
Electoral Services
The Electoral services team deals with 2 main areas –
1) organising elections and the administration for:
- European Parliament elections next due 2009
- County Elections next due May 2009.
- District elections next due May 2011
- Parish Elections next due May 2011
- UK Parliamentary – when called by Prime Minister but must at be interval’s of
not more than 5 years.
- By-Elections for any of the above when vacancies arise.
2) The registration of electors –
- The Electoral Officer must undertake an annual canvass of all properties in
the District, during the autumn.
- When this has been done the register must be published on the 1st December
each year.
- The register must be maintained and updated monthly. The cut of dates for
this are:
If we get your form before… Your details will be changed on …
Thursday 10th January 08 Friday 1st February 08
Friday 8th February 08 Monday 3rd March 08
Monday 10th March 08 Tuesday 1st April 08
Wednesday 9th April 08 Thrusday 1st May 08
There is no monthly update during September, October or November during the
annual canvass period when all households have to register. A new Register is
published on 1 December.
- 1. Service Standard -
Elections
Elections
In Electoral Services we organise elections and do the administration for
European elections, County elections, District and Parish, UK Parliamentary and
any by-elections that may occur.
The election timetable is set out by legislation, and we must keep to all
deadlines.
We deal with organising the polling station, we must make sure all polling
stations are accessible and appropriate for polling. We also have to organise
the staff to run all the polling stations
- 1. Service Standard - Electoral
Registration
Electoral Registration
In Electoral Services we conduct an Annual Canvass which is where we send out a
registration form to every household within East Hampshire, this is
approximately 46,000 properties.
We do this so we can collect information for the register of any changes, for
example people who have moved or name changes etc.
All this information is collected and put on the register so we can publish an
up to date version of the register on the 1st December each year.
The register is in all our information offices available for inspection.
We keep updating the register each month, so if a person wants to be added to
the register they phone or e-mail. We will then send a form out within 24
hours.
We have a deadline for each month when the forms need to be back to us, to go
on the register for the following month. Please see dates in Electoral Services
Standards.
Once an application is received the information will be put on the system the
same day ready for the 1st of the month up date.
On the 1st of each month we send all updates of changes to the information
offices so each register is up to date, and a letter is sent to each electorate
who has had details changed, added or deleted.
We also deal with Service voters, overseas voters and Crown Servants who all
register by declaration.
We also do Polling reviews where we review the Polling Districts, Polling
Places and Polling Stations around East Hampshire this must be done every 4
years. We undertook and completed a polling review in 2007.
- Am I eligible to vote and
how do I register?
In order to register you must be 18 or over and be a British citizen, a British
Commonwealth citizen, an Irish citizen or a European Union citizen.
16 and 17 year olds can also be added to the register but can not vote until
they are 18.
To register to vote you need to fill in a voter registration form please
print this Voter Registration Form and return to
Electoral Services. It is not possible to return forms by email as your
signature is required. During September forms to register are sent to every
household to check that the details held are up to date.
There is no monthly update during September, October or November during the
annual canvass period when all households have to register. A new Register is
published on 1 December.
- Can I have a postal
vote?
Postal voting is available to everyone, all you need to do is
fill in an
application form with your date of birth and signature. To be able to vote by
post at an election it must be 11 days before the election.
We will send all postal votes out after the deadline and you will receive
your ballot paper and a statement, all you need to do is put a cross on the
ballot paper and sign and put your date of birth on the statement and return it
to East Hants with the envelopes provided.
- Can I have a proxy
vote?
A proxy vote is where an elector nominates someone else to vote on
their behalf
at elections. Those people with a physical incapacity, or who regularly work
away from home, may qualify for a permanent proxy vote. Students may apply for
a proxy while they are at college or university. Anyone who will be away for a
particular election may apply for a proxy vote just for that election. Written
applications must be received by Electoral Services not later than 6 working
days before the election. For an application form contact Electoral Services or
print the forms from our downloadable forms.
- Can I purchase the Electoral
Register?
The electoral register can be purchased but
only the edited register. The
edited register does not have every elector on as electors can opt to have
their name taken off the edited register. The cost of the register is:
Paper copy = £5.00 per 1000 electors plus £10 admin or
Data copy = £1.50 per 1000 electors plus £20 admin.
If you would like to purchase a copy please contact Electoral Services by
phoning 01730 234093 or e-mail electoral.services@easthants.g
ov.uk
We will need to know the area you would like and the format. We will need
this in writing. The register will be sent on receipt of payment.
- Do I need to take my poll card to
the polling station?
You are able to vote without a poll card if your
name is on the Electoral
Register but it will speed up the voting process if you take your poll card to
the station.
- How do I check Im registered to
vote?
Copies of the register can be inspected at East Hampshire
District Council
(EHDC) offices and at the District Council Information Offices in Alton,
Bordon, Horndean and Liphook.
Their is also a copy held at Petersfield Library for inspection.
Or you can contact Electoral Services on 01730 234093/ 234370.
- How do I get an
Emergency Proxy?
You can get an emergency proxy after the 6th
day before the day of poll. You
need to contact Electoral Services on 01730 234370.
Emergency proxies are for medical emergencies only and need to be signed by
a doctor.
How do I get
- How to contact
Electoral Services
To contact Electoral Services please telephone:
Lianne Hall on 01730 234370or
Hannah Smith on 01730 234093
or
Email: eservices@easthants.gov.uk
Or you can fax us on: 01730 234071
- Parish By-election
results
The results of parish by-elections taken place within East
Hampshire.
Steep - 22nd May 2008
- Parish by-elections.docParis
h by-elections.doc
- What are the Canvass
returns?
Each year we carry out a canvass where we send a form to every
household
across East Hants. Our aim each year is to get at least a 94% return rate.
PLease see the table below to see how we compare to other authorities.
2004 2005 2006 2007
Basingstoke 83.00 84.90 89.80 92.20
East Hants 96.00 93.00 97.00 95.00
Fareham 99.18 99.12 99.05 99.05
New Forest 95.26 95.57 96.84 94.00
Portsmouth 81.73 76.93 85.50 85.70
Test Valley 89.00 88.00 94.00 93.42
Gosport 93.33 91.84 98.79 98.48
Havant 91.00 93.00 97.00 97.00
Eastleigh 96.30 96.25 96.50 96.40
Hart 89.10 93.31 94.94 97.20
Southampton 94.00 95.00 91.00 89.10
Winchester 97.20 98.60 98.50 98.50
Rushmoor 86.0 84.00 95.00 94.05
National Average 89.40
- What do I need to qualify as a
District Councillor?
You need to be a British, Irish, Commonwealth
or European Union Citizen
aged 18 years or over; who:
a) is a registered local government elector for the District;
b) has, during the whole of the 12 months preceding the day of the election,
occupied as owner or tenant land or other premises in the District;
c) has a principle place or only place of work in the District; or
d) has, during the whole of the 12 months, resided in the District. They also
must not be disqualified under the 1972 Local Government Act.
- What do I need to qualify
as a Parish Councillor?
To qualify to stand as a Parish Councillor a
person must be:-
a British, Irish, Commonwealth or European Union Citizen aged 18 years or over;
who
a) is a registered local government elector for the parish in question;
b) has, during the whole of the 12 months preceding the day of the election,
occupied as owner or tenant land or other premises in the parish;
c) has a principle or only place of work in the parish;
d) has, during the whole of the 12 months preceding the day of the election,
resided in the parish or within 4.8 kilometres (3 miles) of it.
They must also not be disqualified for being elected for any reason as set out
in the Local Goverment Act 1972.
- When are the next scheduled
elections to be held?
The next elections are:
County Election May 2009
European Parlaimentary Elections June 2009