Annual canvass

Each year the Electoral Registration Officer is required to undertake an annual canvass of all households in the district to update the electoral register. 

As part of this we must contact every property to find out if there are any changes to the household so we can remove the details of those no longer living there and invite new occupants to register individually. 

Why have I received a Household Enquiry Form?

You have received a Household Enquiry Form (HEF) as part of our annual canvass. The canvass takes place on a yearly basis, to make sure the register of electors is up to date. To do this, we send a HEF to every residential property in Tandridge.

E-mail forms

If we hold an e-mail address for you, we will send your HEF via e-mail. The e-mails will be sent out from noreply@tandridge.gov.uk on 27 June 2019. 

If we hold an e-mail address for more than one person in the property, each individual person will receive an e-mail.

Only one response per household is required. The e-mail will ask you to log on to our HEF response service and get you to confirm or update the details we hold.

This e-mail is a genuine request, but if you are unsure please contact electoral services.

Paper forms

If we do not hold an e-mail address for you, or you haven't responded to the e-mail by 8 July 2019, a paper HEF will be sent to you around 22 July 2019.

The form will be addressed to The Resident and will contain the details of all those in the household who are registered to vote. Where a property has no registered electors, the form will be blank.

You need to respond to the form, even if you have no changes to make. If you do not respond to the HEF, you could be liable for a fine of up to £1,000.
 

How do I respond to my HEF?

Check the information in the form. Then respond using one of these options:

It is quicker and cheaper if you respond to the HEF electronically. You will need the security codes (printed on the front page of your form) if you respond online or by phone.

If you are unable to respond electronically, please complete the form and return it in the envelope provided.

Deadline to respond

The deadline to return the HEF is 27 August 2019.

After this deadline, if you have not returned your HEF, electoral canvassers will make a personal visit to your property with a form to encourage you to respond.

You need to respond to the form, even if you have no changes to make. If you do not respond to the HEF, you could be liable for a fine of up to £1,000.
 

Empty property, second home, business premises

If you receive a HEF, but your property is empty, a second home or a business premise, we still need you to respond.

Please go to section 4 (for populated forms) or section 2 (for blank forms) and tick the appropriate box, sign and return the form.

Eligible nationalities

You still need to respond even if you think no one living in your property is eligible to register to vote because of their nationality.

Please go to section 4 (for populated forms) or section 2 (for blank forms) and tick the appropriate box to say 'none of the residents are eligible to vote because of their nationality'.

Changes you may need to tell us

These are the changes you can make on the HEF:

A person has been listed on the HEF, but they are deceased

We are very sorry for any distress this may have caused. To remove the entry of a deceased person from our register, we need to have received either a copy of the death certificate or a formal notification.

We receive a weekly report from the registrar of deaths in Surrey and through the Tell Us Once Service. Unfortunately, notification of a death may not be received in time for us to be able to stop a communication. We appreciate this can be distressing for relatives.

Please contact the elections office to check if we are aware of the death.

Change of nationality

You will not be able to amend your nationality online. Please complete the online response without changing your nationality. After you have submitted your online response, please e-mail us with your:

  • Full name.
  • Full address.
  • Details of your previous and new nationality.
  • Proof of your change of nationality, for example a photocopy of your passport or naturalisation certificate.
  • If responding using the paper form, cross out your previous nationality and write your new nationality underneath.

Someone has moved in/out of the property

  • If responding online, follow the instructions for removing or adding a person
  • If responding by paper form, cross out the name of the person who has moved away, or write the name of the person who has moved in (in the appropriate section)

Adding a person's name on the household enquiry response website, or to the HEF, does not mean they will be added to the register of electors. All new people who are added to the HEF will receive a form called an Invitation to Register (ITR) that they will need to complete and return to be added to the register.

If you provide the new person's e-mail address, we will send this form to them electronically, otherwise, they will receive a paper form.

The ITR form will ask them for additional information, including their national insurance number and date of birth. Once received, they can respond to the ITR online at www.gov.uk/registertovote.

A household member is aged 76 or over, but not accordingly marked

  • If responding online, follow the instructions to mark them as 76 or over.
  • If responding using the paper form, go to the Over 76? column, cross out the word 'no' and write 'yes' underneath.

We ask for this information because it is used by the courts when selecting people for jury service. Those aged 76 or over are exempt from being called.

Change of name

  • If responding online, follow the instructions to type in your new name.
  • If responding via paper form, cross out your previous name(s) and write your new name(s) underneath.

After we receive and process your HEF response, we will send you a change of name form to complete and return with proof of your change of name (for example, a marriage certificate, civil partnership certificate, deed poll document or an amended birth certificate).

Change of voting method

If you are listed as voting in person, but want to change to vote by post or proxy, please cross out in person and write by post or by proxy underneath. We will send you the relevant application form to complete and return to arrange postal or proxy voting.

If you are listed as voting by post or by proxy and want to change this to vote in person at your polling station, please cross out by post or by proxy write in person underneath. We will send you an absent voting cancellation request you must complete and return to cancel your postal or proxy vote.

Change of open register preference

Under the included on the open register column, it will say either yes or no.

If it says yes next to your name, it means your details are currently on the open register, which is available for purchase by any person, company or organisation.

If it says no, it means your details are not included on the open register and only appear on the electoral register, which may only be used for specific, controlled purposes.

If you wish to change your open register preference, please do the following:

  • If responding online, follow the instructions for changing your preference.
  • If responding by paper, cross out yes or no and write the appropriate change underneath.

After we receive and process your HEF response, we will write to you to confirm your open register preference change.