Annual Canvass

Why have I received an email or annual canvass form?

You will have received an e-mail or annual canvass form through the post as part of the ‘annual canvass’. This is a kind of survey carried out every year in order to make sure that the register of electors is kept up-to-date.

The annual canvass is carried out by sending a form to every household (either by e-mail or post) in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The form will be addressed to "the occupier" and will contain the details of all those in the household who are registered to vote.

Each household is required by law to make sure that the details on the form are correct. 

Most forms will list the details of who we think lives at your property. Properties, where no one is registered to vote, will receive a blank form. 

All eligible residents need to be included on the form. 

Eligible residents are: 

• people who are aged 16 years or over (although they will not be able to vote until they are 18)  
  
• British, Irish or EU citizens, or  
  
• A Commonwealth citizen who has leave to remain in the UK or who does not require leave to remain in the UK
  

Read more about how to confirm whether the information on the form is correct and what to do if any information needs changing.

How do I complete my annual canvass form?

Learn what to do if the details are correct on your annual canvass form. 

Learn what to do if details need changing/amending on your annual canvass form 

Do I need to do anything if the details have not changed on my annual canvass form?

Yes. You must confirm with us that your details have not changed using one of the methods below:

Online 

Using the Household Response Service website:

East Riding of Yorkshire Council Household Response Service 

You will be prompted on the first page for your Part 1 Security Code and Part 2 Security Code (these are printed in Box 2 on the front of your form). 

Please note: you can only use the online service if you have a valid email address. 

Phone

Call 0800 975 8346 to make an automated response. You will be asked for your Part 1 Security Code and Part 2 Security Code (these are printed in Box 2 on the front of your form). If you have no changes to make, you will be asked to press the 0 (zero) button to confirm all the details on the form are correct.

Text

Text your Part 1 Security Code and Part 2 code followed by 'No Change' to 07860 017763. 

You will be sent a return text confirming your response. You do not need to do anything else.

Post

Details about responding if you cannot use any of the above methods are outlined on the form. Please note that a prepaid envelope is not included in the first stage of the canvass and residents are encouraged to use one of the methods outlined above to respond to the annual canvass form.

What do I do if the information on the annual canvass form needs changing?

You should confirm to us that the details on the annual canvass form have changed by using one of the methods below:

Online

Using the Household enquiry response website: 

East Riding of Yorkshire Council Household Response Service 

You will be prompted on the first page for your Part 1 Security Code and Part 2 Security Code (these are printed in Box 2 on the front of your form). 

Please note: you can only use the online service if you have a valid email address. 

Post

Details about responding if you cannot use any of the above methods are outlined on the form. Please note that a prepaid envelope is not included in the first stage of the canvass and residents are encouraged to use the online method to respond if at all possible to inform us of any changes that are needed. If you cannot use the online method, you can call 01482 393300 to speak to a member of the electoral services team.

What changes do I need to tell you about?

Someone has moved out/in

If someone is listed on your annual canvass form but has moved away or someone has moved into the property who is not listed on the form, you can inform us in the following way:

Online

How to tell us of the changes in your household online

Post

How to tell us of the changes in your household by post

Cross out the name of the person who has moved away or add the name of the person who has moved in. 

Adding a person's name to the annual canvass form or the household response website does not mean that they will be added to the register of electors. All new people who are added to an annual canvass form will receive a form called an Invitation to Register (ITR). This will ask for information about that person, including their National Insurance Number and date of birth. 

Once this form has been returned to us we can then take steps to register that person.

Also, any person wishing to register should do so online

Anyone over 76 years old

If you are over 76 but there is no cross (X) in the column on the annual canvass, you must tell us. We ask for this information as it is used by the courts when selecting people for jury service.  

You must inform us if you are over 76 using the following means: 

Online 

How to tell us of the changes in your household online 

Post 

How to tell us of the changes in your household by post 

If by post, mark a cross (X) in the 'Over 76?' column. 

Nationality 

If your nationality is incorrect, please inform us by the following ways: 

Online 

How to tell us of the changes in your household online 

Post 

How to tell us of the changes in your household by post 

If by post, write the correct nationality in the 'Nationality' column.

Postal or proxy vote

This tells you whether you have a postal or proxy vote. If you wish to apply for or cancel a postal or proxy vote you can do this by the following means:

Request a postal vote online 

How to tell us of the changes in your household online

Request a postal vote by post 

How to tell us of the changes in your household by post 

If by post, write 'Postal' under the 'Postal or proxy vote?' column. 

Cancel a postal vote

How to tell us of the changes in your household by post 

You can only cancel your existing postal vote by sending the annual canvass form back to us in the post. Cross out 'Postal' under the 'Postal or proxy vote?' column. 

Request a proxy vote online

You can download a proxy application online to request a proxy vote.

Request a proxy vote by post

How to tell us of the changes in your household by post

If by post, write 'Proxy' under the 'Postal or proxy vote?' column. 

Cancel a proxy vote

How to tell us of the changes in your household by post

When telling us by post, cross out 'Proxy' under the 'Postal or proxy vote?' column.

Opting in or out of the Open Register

Under the 'Included on the open register' column this will say either:

• Yes - this means you are on the Open Register which can be bought by any person, company or organisation 
  
• No - this means that your details are not included in the Open Register and so your details are not passed on to other parties or organisations. This does not affect your right to vote. 
  
  

If you wish to opt-out or in of the Open Register, you can do this by the following means:

Online

How to tell us of the changes in your household online 

Post

How to tell us of the changes in your household by post 

To opt-out by post, cross out 'Yes' under the 'Included on the open register' column. 

To opt-in write 'Yes' under the  'Included on the open register' column.

What is the deadline to respond to the annual canvass form?

You need to respond to the form as soon as possible. If a response is not received within approximately 3 weeks of you receiving the form, then you will be sent a reminder, which will give you a further few weeks to respond.

Read about what could happen if you don't respond in time.

Why have I received an Invitation To Register (ITR) form?

An Invitation to Register Form (ITR) is usually sent out only to new people who are not listed on the annual canvass form that we’ve sent to you. 

The reason for this is that the law has changed and in order to be registered, residents must provide us with various information, including your national insurance number and your date of birth. We then try to match this information with the records held by the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP).

If you do not provide us with the details we require, you cannot be entered on the register of electors.

You can provide us with the required information by the following means:

Online

GOV.UK – Register to vote (external website) 

Post

Complete the ITR and return it to us using the prepaid envelope provided. Further details of where to return it to are on the form. 

If your details do not match those held by the DWP, we will write to you again and ask for some more information.

Residents who did not respond to the canvass last year or who we were unable to match against DWP records will also receive an ITR (even if your name was printed on the annual canvass form).  

Please note: If this is why you have received an ITR you must complete it or you will be deleted from the register of electors.

What happens if I do not respond to the annual canvass form or my ITR Form?     

If you do not respond to your annual canvass form or ITR, we will send you a reminder. If you still do not return the forms, we are obliged to send a personal canvasser to your home with a further reminder.

The potential penalties associated with each are:

Annual Canvass Form

There is a criminal penalty for failing to provide the information required by the HEF of a maximum of £1,000. The penalty for providing false information is imprisonment of up to six months or, (on summary conviction) an unlimited fine. 

ITR 

If you do not provide us with the information requested on the Invitation to Register Form (ITR), you could be fined £80 and your name be removed from the register. This means you will not be able to vote and your credit rating could be affected.