What electoral registration activity should continue throughout the year following the annual canvass?

Maintaining the accuracy and completeness of the register throughout the year  

A year-round focus on registration is key to ensuring that you have confidence in, and continue to maintain, the completeness and accuracy of the register. 

You should review your existing public engagement strategy and registration plans following the annual canvass to reflect any plans for the following year, such as household notification letters, obtaining regular data updates for attainers and care homes and any plans to tie local activity in with national events such as National Democracy Week.

You can find more information in our guidance - Your public engagement strategy and registration plan.

Non-responding Route 2 and Route 3 properties

You will need to decide what, if any, action you will take in respect of properties that have not responded to canvass communications where a response was required and all follow-up and reminder stages of the canvass have been carried out.   

You are able to consider non-response to a canvass communication where a response was required as one piece of evidence for the purpose of reviewing an elector’s entitlement to remain registered. 

You should consider if you will make any further checks of local data for a second piece of evidence that an elector is no longer resident, to enable you to remove them from the register or if you will undertake any reviews of elector’s entitlement to remain registered. 

You should also consider using your powers to access other local records and to request information to identify potential new electors at these non-responding properties.

Outstanding queries, documentary evidence and attestation processes

You should continue to follow up any outstanding requests for documentary evidence or attestations that are needed to complete the application process and you should keep your plans for the follow up of non-responders to ITRs throughout the year under review.

You will need to keep an audit trail to demonstrate what actions you take.