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Register to vote campaign launches


6/11/20
A new advertising campaign to encourage young people and eligible foreign nationals living in Cardiff to register to vote has been launched.

 

Changes to the law in Wales mean that from the age of 14, young people can now register to vote and for the first time, 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in the next Senedd elections, scheduled to take place next May.

 

The Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 also extends the franchise to enable qualifying foreign citizens to vote in Senedd elections too.


The Council has launched a digital campaign to raise awareness of the new franchise amongst eligible residents in the city and to encourage them to ensure they can have their say in Senedd elections by registering to vote atwww.gov.uk/register-to-vote

 

The campaign focuses on social media advertising across a range of channels including Facebook, Twitter, youtube and Snapchat, while posters promoting the new franchise are being installed in bus stop shelters across the city.

 

Electoral registration officer for Cardiff, Paul Orders, said: "The Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 gives 16 and 17-year-old young people and qualifying foreign citizens in the city a chance to have their say and an influence on those making decisions that will impact their future. It's important that everyone now granted the right to vote in Senedd elections understands that their voice counts and their vote matters.

 

"Our campaign is aimed at encouraging people to register for their vote, and to register early. At every election, we know many people miss out on the opportunity to cast their vote because they haven't registered in time and we want to avoid that by letting people know how important it is to register. Don't lose your vote - register now."

 

As well as encouraging young people and eligible foreign nationals to register, the Council is keen to remind the wider electorate of the importance of registering to vote. 

 

Every year, acanvass of eligible voters is carried out in the city to make sure household'selectoral registration details are up to date. Usually at this time of year, this involves canvassers visiting properties who have yet to return their canvass form to personally check information about eligible voters with residents.

 

However, in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic measures, the Council has decided not to proceed with these face to face engagement activities. Extensive work continues to update the electoral register including canvass forms being re-sent to around 20,000 households yet to respond requesting the relevant, up-to-date information. The Council is asking residents who receive these letters to take the requested steps to ensure their household is registered.

 

The city's electoral services team will also be contacting households for which we hold telephone numbers to verify their information.

 

Residents can also register online by visitingwww.gov.uk/register-to-voteRegistration takes about five minutes and residents will need their National Insurance number.

 

At a time when more people are staying at home, the Council is also keen to hear from anyone interested in registering for a postal vote for the next election. Postalvote application forms can be downloaded from the Electoral Commissions website herehttp://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voting-person-post-or-proxy/voting-postor are available on request by emailingelectoralservices@cardiff.gov.uk