Durham County Council wants to encourage anyone not yet registered to vote, to take advantage of National Voter Registration Drive this week and go online now to register.
On Thursday 5 May 2016 voters will go to the polls to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner for County Durham. Anyone who isn’t registered to vote won’t be able to take part and have their say.
The deadline to register to vote in this election is Monday 18 April 2016. Whilst there is still time, it’s running out quickly. The good news is that it only takes a few minutes to register online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. It’s a chance to join the thousands of people across the UK being encouraged to register this week.
Durham County Council is running a number of activities this week to encourage residents to register. These include registration drives for students at Durham University on Wednesday 3 February and Friday 5 February, and politics workshops for A-Level students at Consett Academy on Thursday 4 February.
Colette Longbottom, electoral registration officer for Durham County Council, said: “Anyone not yet registered to vote should do so as soon as possible so they can have their say on issues that affect their day-to-day lives. I’d urge people living in County Durham to use National Voter Registration Drive to spread the message amongst family and friends that it only takes a few minutes to complete the form and register to vote online.”
Ben Brook, head of performance and English regional teams at the Electoral Commission, said: “National Voter Registration Drive exists because it’s important that anyone who’s eligible, but has not yet registered to vote, does so. It’s easy and quick to do online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Young people, students and people who move frequently are much less likely to be registered to vote so #NVRD is as important as ever.”
Local residents can get a paper copy of the registration form by contacting the electoral registration office on 03000 261 212.