Devon County Council

Your right to Vote
County Council elections take place every 4 years. The last County Council elections were held on 5th May 2005.  The results are available online.

The next County Council Elections are expected to take place on 4th June 2009, in line with the EU elections (NOTE - Local government re-organisation could result in a change to this arrangement for Devon). For details of how to register to vote, how to vote at an election, and where, please consult your local District Council.

Devon County Council is responsible for County Elections. The County Returning Officer for Devon will appoint appropriate Deputy Returning Officers in each of the District Councils to conduct the elections which will be based on District and parliamentary boundaries.

Devon County Council is the largest local authority in the South West of England. All seats on the Council fall due for re-election and there are currently 62 seats on the Council.

If you are eligible to register and your name is not already included on the Register, you must apply to your local District Council.

Registering to Vote
To be able to vote at elections in this country you must first be registered with your local District Council on the Electoral Register.

Eligibility to Register
To be able to register you are required to be a British, Irish  or qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a Member of a country which is part of the European Union. This entitles you to register to vote for European Parliamentary Elections and Local Government Elections.

What age must I be?
To be able to vote you must be 18 or over on the day of the election. However when you are registering to vote, on the electoral form you must include anyone that is aged 16 and 17 as they will reach the age of 18 during the life of the Register.

When do I register?
Electoral registration forms are delivered to every household generally in the first week of September of every year. Check with your local District Council for the deadline. Anyone who moves to an address after this date is able to register for their new address. By law you have to register every year. You could get fined up to £1,000 if you do not register to vote

When is the Register published?
By 1^st December a Register is published. People should check that their name is correct and has been included. If there is an error corrections to the Register can be made. You should contact the appropriate Returning Officer at your local District Council. The Register is upated monthly from January to September each year.

You can now opt for greater privacy when you register
By completing and returning the form, registered voters can say they if wish their details to be removed from the version of the electoral register which is available for commercial companies to buy - the Edited Register. Many people don’t want businesses buying the electoral register to gain access to their names and addresses. By opting out of the Edited Register you could start to reduce the amount of junk mail that you receive.

How to opt out of the Edited Register
Please put a cross in the 'Persons Not Wishing to Appear in the Edited Register' box against anyone who wishes their name and address to be excluded from the edited register. You should ask each of them their preference before completing the form.

Where is the Register of Electors kept?
The Electoral Register is a public document but can only be inspected under supervision and is therefore held only at your local District Council office. Only certain people and organisations can have copies of the full register, and they can only use it for specified purposes. These include electoral purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and checking your identity when you have applied for credit. The law says who can have a copy of the full register and what they can use it for.

What do I do if my name is not on the Register?
Contact your local District Council.

What about Postal or Proxy voting
In certain circumstances you may request a postal vote (voting via post) or a proxy vote (where somebody votes on your behalf. Contact you local District Council for details.

For further Information

There is dedicated Electoral Commission website at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk giving information about registering to vote, how to vote, elections, including information for home movers, armed forces and overseas voters. The is also the facility to register to vote on-line.