A Commonwealth citizen with leave to enter or remain in the UK, or who does not require such leave, is entitled to register to vote and then (if over 18 years of age and resident in the UK or serving in the UK armed forces) to vote in any UK General Election.

An Irish citizen who is resident in the UK and is over 18 years of age is entitled to vote in any UK General Election.

You must be registered by 2359 hrs GMT on 26 November to vote in the General Election on 12 December.

The Electoral Commission has been reminding UK Service personnel that they need to make sure they are registered to vote before the deadlines in April if they want to take part in the elections on Thursday 4 May.

Figures from the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey reveal that only 80% of the armed forces are registered to vote, and that this drops to only 75% of personnel below officer rank.

Former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Sir Eric Pickles MP, was asked by the government last year to consider what further changes were needed to make the electoral system more secure. This was particularly in light of the 2015 Tower Hamlets election scandal that led to the disqualification of the elected mayor for a number of corrupt and illegal practices. Sir Eric's report has been published today, containing 50 detailed recommendations, about which BAFF has just one comment in connection with service voters.

Time is running out to register to vote ahead of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union on 23 June. The deadline to register is midnight on Tuesday 7 June.

Since the launch of the Electoral Commission’s public awareness campaign on 15 May, over 1.35 million people in England, Wales and Scotland have already applied online to register to vote.

BAFF has learned that postal ballots for the EU membership referendum on 23 June are to be sent out to service voters between 23 and 27 May "to ensure plenty of time for their votes to be counted".