West Suffolk Council is starting the annual canvass process to update the electoral register.
The Electoral Registration Officer has a legal duty to undertake a canvass (each year, between 1 July and 30 November) of all households and to publish a revised Register of Electors by 1 December.
The purpose of the canvass is to request that households check the list of those registered at the address and to either confirm that the information is correct or to provide an update.
This used to be done by a form for every residential property, but over the last few years has become more streamlined. West Suffolk Electoral Services Team now completes a data matching exercise of the electoral register with national DWP data and local datasets such as council tax and Adult Social Care data. The purpose of this step is to check the household electorate with other datasets to allocate properties to two different canvass approaches
Route 1, ‘reduced canvass’ for properties where the data suggests there is no change in the household;
Route 2, ‘full canvass’ for properties where the data highlights there could be a change to the information held for the property i.e.the person on the register no longer lives at the address;
Most households will shortly receive an e-mail/SMS message. Emails to electors are always sent from and they are addressed to the name of the elector. The email contains a link to the household response website where the contacted person enters the property postcode (which is not included on the email) and the 2 security codes that are specific to their property. Please respond to the message. If West Suffolk don’t receive a response they’ll then send a form in the post.
If you’re property has not been data matched, West Suffolk will send a form in the post which looks like this. You can respond on line, by phone or by text (if no change to the details). If no response is received, a second form will be sent in the post, allowing for changes to be made and returned in a pre-paid envelope.
If a response is still outstanding, personal contact will be made by mobile canvassers. The canvassers use electronic devices to record and store the information from the property and if there is no answer then they will leave a calling card advising why the visit was made and steps to take. (insert calling card here)
Please take the time to respond to the canvass to ensure that it is as accurate as possible. An added bonus for the parish is that funds which can be spent under s.137 of the Local Government Act are based on an allocation per elector (this year it is £10.81 per elector).
If you have any queries relating to the annual canvass please email .