“It’s your vote, don’t lose it” – council elections less than a month away

With less than a month to go before local elections in Shropshire, the Electoral Commission has launched a national campaign to encourage people to register in time to have their say at the elections on Thursday 2 May 2013. 

Samantha Mills, the Commission’s Head of Campaigns, warned:

“There’s not much time left for people to secure their vote.  We’re concerned that many people may not realise they won’t be able to vote until it’s too late.  That’s why we’re launching this campaign and urging people to take a few minutes to go to www.aboutmyvote.co.uk and make sure they’ll be able to have their say.” 

Those particularly at risk of missing their chance to vote are people who have moved house recently, and who mistakenly assume they are automatically registered at their new address because they pay council tax.  The two processes are separate. 

Samantha Mills added:

“We also want to make sure that people who have turned 18 since the last elections realise that this is their chance to vote for the first time.  Being able to vote is a significant rite of passage and we don’t want anyone to miss out.  Act now, and pass the message on to others – you can even register via Facebook’s ‘Democracy UK’ page.” 

The Electoral Commission campaign, with the slogan “It’s your vote, don’t lose it”, encourages people to visit the website www.aboutmyvote.co.uk to register to vote ahead of the 17 April 2013 deadline. 

Shropshire’s returning officer, Claire Porter, said:

“We would encourage everyone to check that they are registered to vote, and to please contact us if they are not sure.  The deadline to register is Wednesday 17 April, so make sure you don’t miss your chance to vote for who you would like to be your local councillor.” 

People can call the Electoral Commission’s information hotline on 0800 3 280 280 or contact Shropshire Council’s electoral registration office on 0345 678 9015, or email elections@shropshire.gov.uk.