Don’t lose your voice - residents in Central Bedfordshire urged to look out for their voter registration details
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Residents are being asked to make sure their electoral registration details are up to date. Being on the electoral register means you can vote in elections. Expect an email or letter shortly.
Residents are being warned not to lose their voice on decisions that affect them by ensuring their electoral registration details are up to date.
The annual canvass helps us keep the electoral register up to date by identifying residents who are not registered or have recently moved, so they can be encouraged to register. This will enable them to participate in future elections. For those who have provided an email address, you will receive an email from cbcelectoralregistration@notifications.service.gov.uk; please respond as soon as possible. For everyone else, a letter addressed to the household will be sent in early August. The email is sent via GOV.UK Notify.
Marcel Coiffait, our Electoral Registration Officer, said:
It’s important that residents keep an eye out for messages from Central Bedfordshire Council, so we can make sure we have the right details on the electoral register for every address in our area. To make sure you can have your say in any upcoming elections, simply follow the instructions we send you.
If you’re not currently registered, your name will not appear in the messages we send. If you want to register, the easiest way is online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote, or we’ll send you information explaining how to register in the post.
We want everyone who is entitled to vote to be able to do so. Making sure you provide the necessary information, by electronic methods where possible, when it is needed, will ensure the process runs smoothly.
All local authorities are required to data match their current registers with the records held by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and to conduct local data matching where possible. We recently conducted the national data matching exercise with the DWP and matched its data with Council Tax records. The results showed that over 80% of all households in Central Bedfordshire have matched.
Properties that match 100% with the DWP and have provided us with an email address will receive an email shortly asking them to confirm that all the information is the same. Residents are encouraged to reply promptly to this email to avoid unnecessary postal costs. The email will be sent this week from cbcelectoralregistration@notifications.service.gov.uk and will include instructions on how to respond – only one member per household can reply to this email.
During August, all remaining households will receive a letter identifying who is currently registered at the property – please follow the instructions on the letter carefully.
People who have moved recently are particularly encouraged to look out for the voter registration messages from us and check the details.
Research by the Electoral Commission indicates that recent home movers are far less likely to be registered than those who have lived at the same address for a long time. Across Great Britain, 92% of people who have been at their property for more than 16 years will be registered, compared to 36% of people who have lived at an address for less than a year.
Paying Council Tax does not mean you will automatically be registered to vote.
There’s lots of helpful information about registering to vote on the Electoral Commission website.