Each year, from June until December, our Electoral Services Team are required (by law) to conduct an 'annual canvass' to ensure the electoral register is accurate and complete; we use updated information to publish a revised Register of Electors on 1 December.
Letters* are sent to every address within the City of York Council area; you must follow the instructions in your letter to find out you what (if anything) you need to do.
Your letter will be pre-printed with the current information held for the address; you must:
- check whether you are required by law to respond, or not
- check the information is correct, or not
- notify us if there are any changes
*We may also contact you by email, text telephone or a personal visit.
Responding to the annual canvass
Your annual canvas letter will tell you if you must respond, or not.
Find out what to do if:
- your letter states that you are required to/must respond
- your letter states that you don't need to respond (unless changes are needed)
If your annual canvass letter states that you must respond
If your letter states that you must respond, it's a legal requirement to do so. You must respond whether there are changes to be made or not, and even if you're not eligible to vote in the UK. Failure to provide information could result in a fine of up to £1000, and we'll issue reminders by email, text message, canvass form, telephone call, personal visit, or combination of these.
If your letter states that you must respond you can do so online*, whether there are changes to be made or not - you'll need your security codes part 1 and part 2 to do this.
Confirm or change your household details online
Alternatively, respond via:
- telephone: 0800 9758 607, only to confirm no changes to the household details
- SMS: 0795 0081 308, only to confirm no changes to the household details
If your letter states that you do not need to respond
If your letter states that you do not need to respond, check whether any changes need to be made for your household, and:
- if there are no changes (all of the information is correct, and includes everyone eligible to register to vote at the address) you do not need to do anything further
- if there are any changes you should respond online* - you'll need your security codes part 1 and part 2
Confirm or change your household details online
*If you're unable to respond using the 'Register Securely' response service, please contact Electoral Services on telephone: 01904 551007 for assistance.
Electoral Services
Our Electoral Services Team assists electors with registering to vote and supports the election process.
They don't:
- have any communication with credit reference agencies about individual credit records
- assist with clarifying credit reference agency errors, for example: incorrect address or registration history
- provide confirmation someone is registered to vote other than to confirm a recent addition to the register
- provide written confirmation of residency (Regulations 94 and 107 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002)
You can check if you're registered to vote by contacting our Electoral Services Team on telephone: 01904 551007.
Also see