14 December 2006

More than 100,000 people are now on Guildford Borough’s electoral register - the highest number ever, and the first increase for several years. This means that 92% of the borough (100,668 people) will be ready to vote in the local elections on 3 May next year.

Says Council Leader, Cllr Andrew Hodges:

“This boost to the register is thanks to the Electoral Services team at the council and their efforts to collect the information needed. There has been a 30% increase in residents who have registered ‘no change’ to their details by phone - 5,000 extra calls - rather than post or in person, which is good news as it saves the council money.

“We always encourage all residents to return their annual canvass form as soon as they get it because sending out reminders can cost nearly £3,000 in postage alone. By law we have to have a canvass form from each property even if no one in their household is eligible to vote. Everyone can do their bit to help keep these costs down by taking prompt action and returning the forms - which avoids unnecessary household visits. This year, we had to visit 10,000 properties to get the forms returned - costing a further £13,000,” adds Cllr Hodges.

The team at the council has worked hard to gather the information needed for the register and covered 55,000 households across the borough in three months. This work included a new-look canvass form to encourage telephone registration, and targets for canvassers to visit, at least once, people who did not respond to try and collect the information.