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Discussion Groups / English Usage / September 2010Voting in the UK
Hello All! OK, I'm lazy and maybe should do a search but can British citizens tell me what are the necessary qualifications for voting in British elections? Must you be a citizen and must you be resident in Britain. I discovered, to my surprise, some time ago that I had dual British/US citizenship and I wondered if I would be able to vote without going to Britain.  SignatureJames Silverton Potomac, Maryland Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not James Silverton: > OK, I'm lazy and maybe should do a search but can British citizens tell > me what are the necessary qualifications for voting in British > elections? Must you be a citizen and must you be resident in Britain. I > discovered, to my surprise, some time ago that I had dual British/US > citizenship and I wondered if I would be able to vote without going to > Britain. You can't vote if you've lived abroad for more than 15 years. I was abroad during the last general election and I didn't vote, although I could have voted by mail or by proxy. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/UKgovernment/Politicalpa rtiesandelections/DG_073241 http://tinyurl.com/5mzggh SignatureJohn On 28 Sep, 17:52, "James Silverton" <not.jim.silver...@verizon.net> wrote: > Hello All! > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Email, with obvious alterations: > not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not Without looking up the finer points (damned if I'm going to if you're too lazy!) no, you don't have to be resident, but I think that right normally only extends to expats. I suspect this is the principal difference between nationality and citizenship. Foreign nationals are allowed to vote here, as long as they have applied for and been granted British Citizenship status. Anyone who has voting rights in another country would be deemed a foreign national. Mark >On 28 Sep, 17:52, "James Silverton" <not.jim.silver...@verizon.net> >wrote: [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >granted British Citizenship status. Anyone who has voting rights in >another country would be deemed a foreign national. http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/faq/voting-and-registration/i-have-dual-na tionality.-does-this-affect-my-voting-rights I have dual nationality. Does this affect my voting rights? Having dual nationality does not affect the rules governing electoral registration. A person is eligible to register to vote if they satisfy the relevant nationality criteria. http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/faq/voting-and-registration/who-can-regist er-to-vote Who can register to vote? To be eligible to register to vote, a person must be: * aged 16 years or over (but you cannot vote until your eighteenth birthday), and * a British, Irish, EU or qualifying Commonwealth citizen I think that when you register as a Overseas Voter you make a declaration that you are not permanently resident abroad. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >Hello All! > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >citizenship and I wondered if I would be able to vote without going to >Britain. You would need to have been resident in the UK and registered to vote sometime within the last 15 years. I get the impression that in your case that would mean no. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/UKgovernment/Politicalpa rtiesandelections/DG_073241 Voting from abroad If you move abroad, you can vote in general elections and European Union elections for up to 15 years, but you need to be registered. However, you can't vote in UK local government elections. You can also vote by post or proxy if you’ll be temporarily abroad on election day. Registering as an overseas voter If you are a British citizen living abroad who has registered to vote within the past 15 years, you can apply to be an overseas voter. Applying to be an overseas voter To apply to be an overseas voter you'll need to download and print a registration form from the About My Vote website. Once you have filled it in, you should send it to the electoral registration office for the area where you were last registered to vote. Or, you can contact the electoral registration office and ask them to send you an overseas voter registration form. See also: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/ SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) |
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