Delivering the annual canvass - England
What action should you take when you receive a successful canvass response?
What action should you take when you receive a successful canvass response?
| Canvass response indicates all of the information is complete and accurate | You should record that a response has been received to stop reminders from being sent and close the canvass route for the property. |
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| Canvass response indicates an existing elector is no longer resident at the property | You must not automatically delete the elector from the register. You must instead either obtain a second source of evidence or conduct a registration review before you can remove the elector. You can find more information on both in our guidance - deleting an elector from the register |
| Canvass response indicates an existing elector is now deceased | You may automatically delete the elector from the register if a response indicates that an elector is deceased, and you are satisfied that the information is correct. |
| Canvass response indicates there are new resident(s) at the property |
You must invite potential eligible electors to register within 28 calendar days of receipt unless, in the meantime, they have made an application to register. You do not need to know the full or exact name of a potential elector in order to give them an invitation to register. You do, however, need to have enough information about their name to be able to identify them as an individual. You can find more information in our guidance - inviting individuals to register to vote |
| Canvass response indicates an elector's name has changed | You should send a change of name form to the elector. If an elector has changed their name they must complete a change of name form and provide supporting evidence of the change for the electoral register to be updated. You can find more information in our guidance - processing a change to an elector's name |
| Canvass response indicates an elector's nationality has changed |
You should send an invitation to register to an elector whose nationality has changed. An elector who was previously registered only in the register of local government electors must make a new application if they become a British citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or a citizen of another Commonwealth country, so that they can be added to the register of UK Parliamentary electors. The new application will need to go through the application, verification and determination process again. You can find more information in our guidance - processing a change to an elector's nationality |
| Canvass response indicates a change to the 76 or over indicator | You should add a relevant marker on the register to any individual if a response to a canvass communication indicates that they are (or are not) aged 76 or over |
| Canvass response indicates a change to an elector’s open (edited) register preference |
Where the canvass response clearly indicates that a person wishes to opt out of the open register (for example, if only one elector resides at the address and they have indicated they wish to be removed from the open register), you should treat the canvass response as a notice under Article 21 of the GDPR and amend their open register preference in line with their request. If you are in any doubt as to whether the request comes from an individual elector (for example, if there are multiple electors at the address) or as to their intentions, you should contact the elector(s) to explain what the process is for changing their open register preference, and ask for confirmation before processing the request. This includes if you receive a response from one person that seems to make a request on behalf of everyone listed on the form. You can find more information in our guidance – processing a change to an elector’s open register preference |