Running electoral registration - Wales

After the end of the 28-day notice period, and in the absence of any opt-out request, you must add the person you have identified to the register of local government electors.1

Where possible, scheduling the end of the notice period to align with the deadline for inclusion in the next monthly notice of alteration or revised register, will help reduce any confusion from electors about their entitlement to vote and when it begins.

If a person is added to the register through a monthly notice of alteration, the notice they will appear in depends on when the 28-day notice period ended:

• if it ended before the deadline for inclusion in the next monthly notice of alteration, the person will appear in that notice
• if it ended after the deadline for inclusion in the next monthly notice of alteration, the person will appear in the following months' notice of alteration2  

Electors registered under any automatic voter registration process must be added to the local government register with a J marker.3 The J marker on its own indicates that no nationality data is held for that person and they are not eligible to vote in UK Parliament or PCC elections until they have completed the ITR process and confirmed they are of a qualifying nationality.

If you have access to nationality data which shows an elector is a qualifying foreign citizen the elector will also receive an M marker.4 However, no nationality data can be used to extend an elector’s franchise beyond the local government register without the completion of an application to register.

There is no requirement to issue a further notice upon addition to the register. There is no requirement to opt electors out of an edited / open version of the local government register, as this no longer exists in Wales.5

You should not add a person to the register if you are no longer satisfied that they are entitled to be registered, whether because of information provided by the person or otherwise.

You are required to keep a separate list of electors that have been registered under the automatic voter registration process.6

Impacts on absent voting

A person with a J marker cannot be appointed as a proxy for UK Parliament elections.7 For more information see our guidance on the qualifications for acting as proxy.

Impacts on the canvass

Electors with a J marker can be sent for data matching, unless they fall into an excluded category, but any households containing persons with a J marker will need to be sent via Route 2 to enable nationality information to be collected.

Information will need to be provided to J marker electors that although they appear on the canvass form, as their nationality is missing, they need to provide this information and if they are of an eligible nationality, they will need to complete an ITR to be registered for UK Parliamentary elections.

If the nationality information provided to you on the canvass form, indicates that an elector is a qualifying foreign citizen you add an M marker and cease any ITR chasing cycle.

You will need to continue placing any property with J marker electors into canvass route 2 and continue with any relevant ITR chasing cycles until you are able to fully establish the appropriate franchise.

These additional considerations and requirements will have cost implications that you will need to factor into your budget planning.