Annual Canvass
Received an email re Annual Canvass of Electors 2023?
We have started contacting properties in Babergh and Mid Suffolk to confirm who is registered to vote. The email has been sent by our Electoral Services team from the email address elections@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk
This is an official email account that we use. The email will direct you to https://www.registersecurely.com/BaberghandMidSuffolk where you can confirm the electoral register details for your property. The email will provide two security codes that you must provide when signing in, along with your post code.
If you update or confirm your details by email, you do not need to return any paper annual canvass form you may receive.
Annual Canvass of Electors 2023
Please act now and respond with your household’s electoral register details so Babergh and Mid Suffolk Councils can check who is eligible to be registered to vote at this property.
Update or confirm your details online
The majority of households now respond online but if you do not update your details online, we are legally required to send you a paper form. Responding online now is quick and easy; it only takes a few minutes, and it saves paper forms being printed and the council a significant expense on postage.
Visit https://www.registersecurely.com/BaberghandMidSuffolk
- Enter your unique security code:
- Security code part 1: <enter number received>
- Security code part 2: <enter number received>
Update your household information and submit.
Please complete the above steps by the end of August 2023. Please note only one elector from the property is required to respond.
Update your household’s electoral register details
You should include the names and nationalities of everyone who lives at this address. If you add any new people and cannot provide their National Insurance Number and Date of Birth, they will need to complete a separate registration application. They can register to vote online. We will send each new applicant a form if they do not apply online.
Moved house?
You may be receiving this email because you are still registered to vote at a previous address. Entering your current postcode will result in the security codes not working. If you try your old postcode and security numbers you can login and record that you no longer reside at the property.
What happens if I don’t update or confirm my details online?
If you do not respond a printed paper copy of the canvass form will be sent to your property during August 2023.
Why am I receiving this email?
The Electoral Registration Officer is required to contact you by law. We have contacted you via email as you have previously provided us with your email address. We will only use your email address for electoral purposes but should you no longer wish for us to contact you in this way you have the right to object to the use of your email address for the purposes of electoral registration.
If you no longer want to be contacted by email you should contact the Electoral Registration Officer on elections@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk to unsubscribe. Please include your name and address on the request.
Questions?
If you have a query, or need further information, please email us using the details below confirming your name and address.
Email: elections@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk
Electoral Registration Officer Details
Arthur Charvonia
Electoral Registration Officer
Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils
Endeavour House
8 Russell Road
Ipswich IP1 2BX
Email: elections@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk
Website: www.babergh.gov.uk / www.midsuffolk.gov.uk
Trouble logging in?
ISSUE: My postcode is not working
1) Make sure you are entering your postcode with the correct spacing; for example, NR33 0EQ (a gap in the middle and no additional space at the end)
2) If you have moved house in the last year, you can try your old postcode with the security codes. If this allows you to login you can record that you no longer reside at the property.
ISSUE: It won’t let me log in
3) Has someone from your property already replied?
Annual update of electoral register
What is the canvass?
The Electoral Registration Officer has a duty to carry out an annual canvass. The canvass takes place to maintain an up-to-date electoral register and to ensure that all individuals in a household, who are eligible to vote, are registered to do so in any forthcoming elections or referendums. To do this, we are required by law to contact every residential property in Babergh and Mid Suffolk.
The canvass will follow a reformed process with more emphasis on contact by electronic means where possible.
How does the Annual Canvass work?
Step 1: Data matching
The latest version of the electoral register will be sent securely to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The names and addresses on the electoral register will be matched against databases held by the DWP.
Once the data has been compared to information held by the DWP, the results of the matching will be sent securely to the ERO.
Once this process is complete, the ERO can use locally held data (such as Council Tax records) to carry our further data matching.
Matched properties:
If all the people registered to vote at a property can be matched with the DWP or local databases, the property will progress down Route 1 for the canvass.
Unmatched properties:
If there are any people at a property that cannot be matched with the DWP or local databases, the property will progress down Route 2 for the canvass.
Step 2: Communication with households
Route 1:
If an email address has been provided, we will send an email to confirm that the details that we hold for the property are correct.
There will be a web link in the email which can be used to confirm that the details are correct, or to update the information that is held. There will be two security codes on that email which need to be used to login and identify your property.
If we do not hold an email address, or we do not receive a response to an email that was sent, we will send a letter to the property. The letter will list the electors that are registered to vote at that property. If the details are correct, nothing needs to be done. If changes need to be made, this can be done using the web link and the security codes.
Route 2:
We will send a letter to the property which will list the electors that are registered at that property. If no electors are registered, this will be indicated on the letter.
We must have a response to this letter, even if the details are correct.
To make changes, a web link will be included in the letter. There will be two security codes in the letter which need to be used to login and identify your property.
If a response cannot be made using the web link, a response can be made by calling the Customer Services Team on 0300 123 4000 and select Option 7.
If we do not receive a response from this letter, we must follow it up. We may send a reminder email and we must send a reminder form. If we do not get a response from the email or reminder form, a canvasser may contact the property. Canvassers may visit the property in person, or by phone if we have the number of an elector at the property.
Route 3:
Care homes, nursing homes and other properties that have a responsible person (such as a manager) will be canvassed separately.
We will be making initial contacts via email, where these contact details are available to us, from 19 July 2023.
Where these contact details are unavailable, or a response is not received to the electronic contact, we will be sending paper communications in the post during August onwards.
Please remember – if you are not registered to vote, you cannot take part in any elections or referendums. Failing to register could also adversely affect your credit score.
Do not forget to include anyone who is 16, 17 or 18. Responding to the form this gives us information about who is entitled to be registered at your property.
Please note that adding new names in your canvass communication response does not automatically register an individual to vote. Any new people added in your response will be invited to complete a separate, individual registration application. This can be done quickly and easily online at GOV.UK - Register to vote. If they do not apply online, we will send each new person a form, either by email or post. Each individual will need to provide their date of birth, nationality, and national insurance number as part of the registration process.