WIREDGOV

With just a week left for people to get registered to vote ahead of the General Election, the Electoral Commission and Twitter are urging people to make sure their voice is heard on 7 May and register at www.gov.uk/registertovote.

20 April will be people’s last chance to get registered so that they can vote in the General Election.

Today (Monday 13 April) millions of Twitter users in Great Britain will see a notification in their Twitter newsfeed encouraging them to register to vote and providing information on how to do so.

Over a million people have so far submitted an online application to register to vote since the Commission launched its main campaign on 16 March. Over 300,000 applications have come from 16 – 24 year olds and the Commission is hoping its partnership with Twitter will reach even more young people and students in particular as the last chance to get registered approaches.

Alex Robertson, Director of Communications at the Electoral Commission said:

“This is it. There is now just one week left for people to get registered to vote. If you aren’t registered by 20 April then you simply won’t be able to vote on 7 May so do it now atwww.gov.uk/registertovote.”

“More and more people have been getting themselves registered, but it’s now time for one last push. It’s fantastic that Twitter is working with us to remind millions of people that it only takes a few minutes to fill in a form and there’s just a week left before the deadline.”

Joanna Geary, Head of News and Government at Twitter UK, said:

“Twitter has always served as a powerful platform for individuals around the world to raise their voice and share ideas on the issues that matter most to them. With only a week to go before the deadline closes, we’ve teamed up with the Electoral Commission to support those in the UK who are interested in making their voices heard and reminding them to register to vote for the election on May 7th.”

Electoral Commission research, published in summer 2014, suggested around 7.5 million people were not registered at their correct address. Since then, Electoral Registration Officers and a range of public, private and voluntary sector organisations have been working hard locally to get people registered to vote.

The Electoral Commission has carried out a range of activities to encourage people to register to vote including:

• Supporting National Voter Registration Day on 5 February which helped contribute to over 166,000 people submitting an online application form.
• Running a major TV, digital and mobile advertising campaign to encourage people to register to vote, as well as launching an exclusive advert with the young cast of Channel 4 show Gogglebox, which will continue to run in the last week.
• Launched #RegAFriend with the NUS, Association of Colleges and a number of youth organisations.
• Launched innovative partnerships with MoneySavingExpert.com and MySingleFriend.com to target under-registered groups.
• Supported Operation Black Vote’s eXpress bus that has been touring areas of Great Britain with significant BME communities encouraging them to register; and also working with faith leaders to spread the message.
• Working with organisations across the voluntary sector to develop resources aimed at reassuring those with a disability that there are different ways to register and cast a vote in May.

The deadline to register to vote is Monday 20 April.

For further information contact:
Karim Aziz in the Electoral Commission press office on 020 7271 0704 orkaziz@electoralcommission.org.uk 
Out of office hours 07789 920 414

Notes to editors

1. The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the UK’s democratic process. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections and are responsible for the conduct and regulation of referendum held under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (2000).
2. To monitor the number of applications to register to vote, visit https://www.gov.uk/performance/register-to-vote
3. For more information about the Electoral Commission’s partnership working, click here.
4. More information on the Electoral Commission’s registration research can be foundhere.
5. There are over 15 million active Twitter users in the UK.