Get Registered to Vote in May Elections

North Norfolk residents must register by 11 March if they wish to vote in the County Council elections - and possible General Election - on 5 May.

Anyone who is not yet on the North Norfolk Register of Electors, or who moves house in the next couple of months, should make sure they register to vote or update their details as soon as possible by contacting NNDC's elections office on 01263 516046, or by downloading a registration form by going to www.northnorfolk.org/council and clicking the 'Elections' link.

Under the 'rolling' registration process, people can now register (or notify the Council of any change in their circumstances, like a change of address) at any time, and amendments to the Register are implemented and published on a monthly basis. The full Register of Electors - a public document that can be viewed under supervision in Council offices - is only published once a year, however.

An annual canvass is still undertaken in the autumn, when each household has a legal obligation to provide the information that is asked for. The new Register of Electors (published on 1 December) shows that North Norfolk has 81,596 electors as of 15 October, compared with 81,014 at the same time in 2003.

This year, for the second time, the canvass was conducted on an entirely postal basis (where previously a team of 60 or more canvassers had to be appointed to go from door to door). The response rate this year was 96.1% - down 0.2% from the 2003 figure, but comparing favourably with many other parts of the country, where response rates have decreased considerably.

And again this year, almost half (47%, compared with 45% last year) of North Norfolk electors opted to be excluded from the 'edited' version of the Register of Electors. NNDC is required by law to make this version available for sale to anyone for any lawful purpose (for example direct marketing companies).

As well as being unable to vote, anyone who is not on the Register of Electors can encounter difficulties when they need proof of their address (for example when applying for a loan, because credit agencies check the Register for such evidence).