Registering to vote

Who can register

You can register to vote if you:

• are 16 or older (although you cannot vote until you are 18)
• are living at an address in the Eastleigh Borough Council area
• are a British citizen or an Irish citizen
• have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man - or you do not need permission - and you’re a:
  - Commonwealth citizen
  - citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain
  - citizen of another EU country, if you have had permission to enter or stay - or not needed permission - since 31 December 2020, and this has continued without a break.

Students and second home owners

You can be registered to vote at two different addresses if you are resident at both addresses and spend an equal amount of time at each. For example, students can be registered at their home and term time addresses. The final decision as to who is eligible to register at an address rests with the electoral registration officer for that area.

It is an offence to vote twice in the same election, such as at a general election. However, you can vote in elections at two separate local councils.

Overseas electors

We strongly advise that you appoint a proxy to vote on your behalf instead of a postal vote. We have to wait for all candidates to request to stand before postal packs can be printed and sent out. This means that postal packs will not be dispatched until around ten days before an election. 

How you vote when you’re abroad depends on:

• whether you’ll be abroad temporarily or living abroad
• where you want to vote.

Temporarily abroad

If you will be abroad on election day (for example on holiday or a work trip), you can either:

• apply to vote by proxy (appoint someone else to vote on your behalf)
• apply to vote by post (please check dates of dispatch before setting up).

Moving or living abroad

If you are living abroad, you can only vote in UK Parliamentary elections and some referendums (each referendum has different rules on who can vote in it) and will need to register as an overseas voter.

If you are eligible, you will then need to either apply to vote by proxy (appoint someone else to vote on your behalf); or apply to vote by post. You will be asked to make this choice when you register.

Please note: Proxy voters appointed to vote on behalf of a registered overseas elector will need their own photo ID to vote in the polling station at a UK Parliamentary election. More information

Why you should register

You must be on the electoral register to vote in all elections and referenda held in the United Kingdom, including local and parliamentary elections.

By law, you must register to vote or you could be fined up to £80.

If you are not on the register you may find it harder to get a loan, mortgage, finance agreement, or ever a mobile phone contract as the electoral register is used by credit reference agencies as part of their checks.