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.

In order to vote in the forthcoming UK local and devolved government elections and the referendum on changing the voting system for electing MPs to the UK Parliament (plans for the Alternative Vote system) all scheduled for 5 May 2011, you must be registered to vote.The deadline for all new registrations and changes to existing details is 14 April 2011.

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Arrangements for Personnel in Afghanistan

4. A Working Group comprising MOD, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Electoral Commission officials
has been considering ways to make it easier for Service personnel who will be in Afghanistan at the
time of the General Election to vote by post if that is their choice. An additional Service Voting and
registration campaign will be run for those who will be in Afghanistan during the election period.
5. Arrangements are in hand to improve the existing process through quicker delivery of ballots to
enable Service personnel in Afghanistan to receive and return their postal votes within the constraints
of the electoral timeframe. This involves using a facility to sort and pack ballot papers for airfreight to
units/individuals serving in Afghanistan and, on their return, for the sorting and distribution of sealed
postal ballots to the returning officers in constituencies around the UK. Units will be required to
facilitate arrangements for Service personnel to cast their vote in theatre and to ensure enveloped
ballot papers are collected and packaged for airfreight for their return to the UK.
6. However, this scheme will not work for every Service person in Afghanistan and due to the tight
electoral timeframe, electoral timeframes and operational priorities, success cannot be guaranteed.
Service personnel are therefore still encouraged to register to vote by proxy.
7. In the meantime, work with the Ministry of justice continues to explore ways of improving voting
arrangements for overseas voters and, for the longer term, to pursue their efforts to identify a
comprehensive solution.
Question and Answer Brief
What are you doing to enable Service personnel to vote in the forthcoming General Election?
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is responsible the electoral process. MOD and the Electoral Commission
conduct extensive information campaigns annually, coinciding with the autumn household canvass,
to encourage Service personnel to register to vote. The latest campaign emphasised the importance
of registration in view of this year's General Election. We will be running further reminders during the
period leading up to the Election.
How does proxy voting work? Surely this isn't a secure process?
Voting by proxy can be particularly useful if you are overseas in a country too far away to send back
a postal vote in time for the election. It means that you appoint someone you trust to vote on your
behalf. We advise Service personnel and their families abroad to vote by proxy.
What arrangements are you making to enable Service personnel serving in Afghanistan to
vote?
MOD has been working with MoJ and the Electoral Commission to devise a scheme which would
deliver ballot papers to and from Afghanistan in time for them to be counted. This involves using a
facility to sort and pack ballot papers for airfreight to units/individuals serving in Camp Bastion,
Kandahar or Kabul and, on their return, for the sorting and distribution of sealed postal ballots to the
Returning Officers in constituencies around the UK. Units will be required to facilitate arrangements
for Service personnel to cast their vote in theatre and to ensure enveloped ballot papers are collected
and packaged for airfreight for their return to the UK. Nonetheless, operational priorities prevail so we
cannot guarantee this scheme will work for every Service person in Afghanistan.
I read somewhere that there might be problems with postal votes going to and coming back
from Afghanistan - are you going to run any special flights?
The electoral time frame is particularly tight. We are not providing any special or additional flights -
see response above to 'What arrangements are you making to enable Service personnel serving in
Afghanistan to vote?'.
Are you making any special arrangements to enable other Service personnel based overseas
(for example in Germany, Cyprus and the Falklands) to be able to vote by post?
MoJ continue their endeavours to examine how postal voting arrangements for families in Germany
can be improved as well as those for personnel and families in other overseas locations - they aim to
identify a comprehensive solution for the next Parliament.
Why are Service personnel in Afghanistan getting special treatment?
These arrangements recognise the specific operational circumstances of our personnel serving in
Afghanistan. This work will help to develop potential longer term solutions for our wider Service
community living and serving overseas.

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.

(31 Mar 2010) With a General Election expected to be called soon, Service Personnel are being encouraged to exercise their right to vote, deployed personnel being recommended to appoint a proxy if possible. For those who are likely to be in Afghanistan during the General Election,

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.

As in last year's General Election, special arrangements will be made for postal voting from Afghanistan in the elections and referendum on Thursday 5th May - but the Government still recommends proxy voting from overseas if at all possible. According to a report on the 'Get Hampshire' website:

(BAFF comment below). Politics.co.uk reports that the government will make special provisions for soldiers in Afghanistan who want to vote in the local elections and referendum on May 5th:

The Ministry of Defence issued the following response on 22 Mar 2010 to media articles such as Weakness in postal voting may disenfranchise thousands of troops (Sunday Times)

Votes for Service personnel

There is speculation in the media that due to time and logistical restraints not all Service personnel will be able to vote in the upcoming General Election. An MOD spokesperson said: "We have had successful campaigns getting Service voters to register and we are working closely with the Ministry of Justice to make suitable provisions for Service personnel in Afghanistan - including fast-tracking postal voting forms. However, due to operational priorities, no plan we can put in place will be infallible but personnel still have the option of voting by proxy."

The Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, Michael Wills MP, had more to say in Parliament on 23 Mar 2010 about the 'bespoke' arrangements for service personnel in Afghanistan to vote by post if they prefer. MPs also heard about ongoing consultations (which include BAFF) regarding future voting arrangements for service personnel, and the Conservatives confirmed that they would co-operate in that exercise in a cross-party way.