Below is a list of frequently asked questions about this year's annual check of the electoral register which is called the annual canvass.

What is the annual canvass?

The annual canvass is a legal process that the Council must complete each year. It means the council must contact all households to check that voter details in each household are correct on the electoral register. It ensures that all residents who are eligible to vote are on the electoral register and those who are no longer entitled are removed.

It is also an opportunity for voters to update their preferences on the open register and the method in which they would like to vote (i.e. at the polling station, by post, etc)

Why did I receive an email this year? Was it genuine?

The Council has changed the way it is checking voter details this year to help make the process more efficient, reduce the number of forms being delivered and help the environment.

This means that approximately 25,000 households recieved an email from the Council in the first instance. The email was sent to households where the Council thought there were unlikely to be any changes to the information and residents previously registered an email address with the Electoral Services team.

More than one person in the household may have received the email however only one person needed to respond.

The email was sent on Thursday June 23, 2022 from the following email address: electoral.services@charnwood.gov.uk.

Residents aere asked to respond to the email by Tuesday July 12 to confirm the information was correct or to advise the Council of any changes.

If a response to the email was not received by 11am or the Council dooes not hold an email address for anyone in the property, a paper enquiry form will be delivered to the household by Friday August 19, 2022.

Residents are reminded to stay alert to email scams. We will never ask for your bank details in an email. If you have any doubts or concerns, please

How does the Council know there is unlikely to be any changes to the voter’s details in my household?

Before contacting households in the borough, the information currently held on the electoral register is matched against data held by the Department of Work and Pensions.

How well the data matches will determine how we contact each property in the borough.

If all of the data matches for a property, then we will email (if an email address has been provided) people in the household asking them to check the data and confirm it is correct. Only one person in the household needs to respond.

Where we do not hold an email address for someone in the property or we do not receive a response to the email, we are required to issue a paper form to the address.

If for any reason there is not a complete data match, we will send a paper form to your address which will need completing by law.

Why did I receive an email, but my neighbour hasn’t?

There could be a number of reasons.

Your neighbours’ may have recently changed their address and therefore will receive an enquiry form in the post.

It may also be because they have not given us permission to contact them via email.

I’ve missed the deadline to respond to the email. What do I need to do?

Those who have not responded to the email will receive a canvass form through their door by Friday August 19, 2022.

Full details of how to complete the form online, by phone, via text or by post are all contained in the form.

Why have I recieved a paper form when I responded to the email check?

A small number of households may still recieve a paper form after responding to the email check. This is because email responses were processed up until 11am on Tuesday July 12. 

If your email response was recieved after 11am on Tuesday July 12, you are likely to recieve a paper form.

If you recieve a paper form, please follow the instructions on the form and respond by Friday August 26.

Last updated: Thu 16th February, 2023 @ 16:19