How to Register to Vote

 

British expats: Don’t lose your vote in the forthcoming European Parliament elections

 

 

 

The European Parliament elections are just over 12 weeks away, but whilst millions of British expatriates are eligible to vote, many of them will be unable to have their say unless they take action now.

 

It’s simple: if you’re a British citizen living  in any Country of the European Union and have been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years, you are eligible to vote in the European Parliamentary elections in THE UK. But if you are not on the electoral register back in the UK, you won’t be able to.  If that’s you, why not take five minutes now to print off a registration form at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk?

 

It’s really important to allow plenty of time to return your form. Although changes are coming, for the election in May 2014, the only way for expats to register is by posting the form to the local authority where they were last registered to vote in the UK. This must be returned by Tuesday 6 May if you want to want to cast a vote in the elections.

 

The latest research shows that, whilst 5.5 million UK citizens may be living abroad, fewer than 20,000 overseas voters were on the UK electoral registers at the end of 2012. Whilst many may have made the decision not to vote, others may not be aware that they can still do so once they have left the UK. 

 

Research by the UK Electoral Commission has also shown that 44% of those not registered to vote mistakenly believe that they are – so it’s really important to double check. You can do this by calling or emailing the electoral registration officer at your last local authority in the UK.  If you’re not sure who this is, you can use the postcode search on www.aboutmyvote.co.uk to find their details.

 

How to vote

 

When you have registered to vote you’ll need to consider exactly how you will cast your vote. There are two ways that British expatriates can do this: by post and by proxy (where you nominate a person you trust in the UK to vote on your behalf).

 

At the earliest, postal ballot papers are only sent out just over two weeks before the election, so it’s important to think about whether this will allow you enough time for you to return it to the UK. Appointing a proxy is often the best way that expatriates can ensure that their vote is cast on time.

 

The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 7 May 2014, and the deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 14 May 2014. Application forms are available from www.aboutmyvote.co.uk.

 

The campaign

 

If you’re confident that you’re already on the register, why not use this chance to join the campaign and spread the message amongst your friends and family?

 

Here’s what you can do:

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·      Place a short article on your website

 

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·      Tweet a link or telling your friends and family that printable overseas registration forms are available from www.aboutmyvote.co.uk.

 

 

 

 

Radio stations

 

The Electoral Comission have targetted the following expat radio stations in their campaign:-

 

Australia

 

Airplay40

 

ABC

 

Radio Australia

 

Canada

 

 

 

Radio Canada International

 

 

 

France

 

 

 

Radio France Internationale

 

BBC World Service

 

 

 

Ireland

 

 

 

Airplay 40

 

 

 

New Zealand

 

 

 

Coast FM

 

Splash FM

 

Radio New Zealand International

 

Portugal

 

 

 

Kiss (Algarve)

 

 

 

South Africa

 

 

 

Trans World Radio

 

 

 

Spain

 

 

 

Central FM on the Costa del Sol

 

Ace FM in Alhaurin & Coin in mainland Spain

 

On Radio One Mallorca

 

Talk Radio Europe

 

ACE FM

 

Central FM

 

Coastline FM

 

Global Radio

 

Cool FM Spain

 

Spectrum FM

 

Wave 96 FM

 

The Beat

 

Radio Gibraltar

 

Lick FM

 

Holiday FM Radio

 

 

 

UAE - Dubai

 

 

 

Airplay40

 

www.myexpatradio.com in Dubai

 

Dubai 92

 

Virgin Radio Dubai

 

Dubai Eye.

 

Here is a list of European radio stations who you might like to contact although not all of them are applicable to our campaign and the right to vote; http://www.listenlive.eu/index.html Unfortunately we do not have similar lists of radio stations for the rest of the world, however if anybody has any please let me know and I will forward them to the Electoral Commission, thanks.

 

 

 

Please remember: the deadline to register to vote is, Tuesday 6th May. It´s your vote, don´t lose it!

 

 

 

Kindest Regards

 

Graham Richards

 

www.votes-for-expat-brits.com & www.votes-for-expat-brits-blog.com