Council urges residents to respond to annual canvass

Date: 

Thursday, 24 October, 2024

Representatives, working on behalf of Woking Borough Council, will soon be visiting households that have yet to respond to this year’s annual canvass communications.

The annual canvass is a legal process councils carry out every year to check that the electoral register is up to date.

Over the last couple of months, the council has contacted every property in the borough, via post or email, to find out if there has been any changes to the household’s occupants and invite new residents to register to vote

Representatives (known as ‘canvassers’) will visit households yet to respond on weekdays between 9am to 7pm and weekends between 10am to 6pm from Saturday 2 November until Sunday 24 November 2024.

When a canvasser visits, one person from your household will be asked to complete the annual canvass form. The canvasser will also provide advice on how to fill in the form correctly.

If no-one is at home, the canvasser will leave another form to complete and instructions on how to return to the council as quickly as possible.

All canvassers will identify themselves by wearing a Woking Borough Council identification badge.

Kevin Foster, Woking Borough’s Electoral Registration Officer, said: “There are roughly 5,000 residents yet to respond to the annual canvass. It is important that everyone who is eligible to vote is on our electoral register in order to have their say on local issues in the local elections taking place in May 2025.

“Completing your annual canvass form only takes a few minutes so I encourage all residents to do so as soon as possible. In particular, people who have moved home in recent months will need check who is registered to vote at their new address. Your vote matters, don’t lose it.”

Read more information about the annual canvass and how to register to vote.