EU Referendum overseas voters Q&A Eligibility.
Who is eligible to vote in the EU Referendum?
• The franchise for the EU referendum is based on the current franchise for UK Parliamentary elections, with the addition of peers in the House of Lords and Commonwealth and Irish citizens in Gibraltar.
• Currently, British citizens living abroad are entitled to be registered to vote in UK Parliamentary elections as overseas voters for up to 15 years, if they were previously registered to vote in the UK before moving overseas. They register as an overseas voter in the constituency in which they were last registered to vote before leaving the UK.
Does that mean that anyone who has been overseas for more than 15 years will not be able to vote in the referendum?
• As it stands, any British Citizen resident overseas who was last registered to vote as a resident in the UK more than 15 years ago (or was never registered to vote when in the UK) at the time the referendum is held, will not be able to vote in the referendum as an overseas elector. ‘
• The Government is committed to scrapping the 15 year time limit on voting from overseas. But this will require a change in the law. The Government intends to bring forward a Bill shortly to permanently scrap the 15 year rule. This will need to be debated and approved by Parliament before it can become law.
• The referendum will take place on 23 June and new legislation to scrap the 15 year rule will not be in place before this date. Once votes for life is introduced, will a British citizen born overseas be eligible to vote? This legislation is still being developed, and may change anyway as the Bill progresses through Parliament, so we cannot say anything for sure at this stage. But the Government's clear intention is to scrap the arbitrary 15 year rule and increase the number of British citizens resident overseas who can register to vote in UK elections.
What about those who were too young to register to vote when they left the UK?
• Someone who was too young to have registered to vote before they left the UK can still register as an overseas elector, provided that they are a British Citizen and at least one of their parents / guardian was registered to vote at the address the applicant was resident at before leaving the UK. For them the 15-year period begins from the date they left the UK.
• For example, if a child left the UK to live in Australia with their British parents / guardian (at least one of whom was registered to vote at the address both the parent and child were resident at before leaving the UK) at age 10, they will be eligible to register to vote as an overseas voter until they reach 25 years old.
• If neither parent / guardian was registered to vote in the UK before moving overseas, their child is not eligible to register or vote as an overseas elector.
What if the child was born overseas?
• It does not matter where a British citizen is born. Provided they have been resident at an address in the UK at some point within the past 15 years and one of their parents / guardian was registered to vote at that address, they can register to vote as an overseas voter until they hit the 15 year time limit. This starts from the day they left the UK.
When does the 15 year period start?
• The 15-year period begins from the last day that an individual was on a register of electors in the UK, i.e. the last day on which the person was on the electoral register before they were removed (unless they were a child when leaving the UK in which case the period runs from the date they were last resident at the address their parent / guardian was registered at).
• If they are in any doubt whether they eligible to vote as an overseas elector in the EU Referendum, British citizens overseas should be encouraged to check with the local authority where they were last registered to vote in the UK. Relevant contact details for each local authority can be found on the ‘about my vote.org' website.
What about crown servants and their spouse or civil partner?
• British citizens overseas who are serving in HM Armed Forces, or as a Crown servant or British Council employee (and in each case any spouse or civil partner with them) are overseas in the direct service of their country. They can register as ‘service voters’ if they wish.
• Those who have registered to vote as service voters are not subject to the same 15 year time limit as other overseas voters. This is because service voters are treated as if they are resident in the UK.
• So, if they are properly registered to vote by the final deadline for the referendum, they will be able to vote, no matter how long they have lived overseas.
What about Crown servants who have left the crown service and remain living overseas‘?
• The 15 year period will start from the last day they were on a register of electors in the UK, i.e. when they no longer benefitted from a service declaration (because they or their partner ceased to qualify for the declaration because they left the service of the Crown).
What about British employees of international organisations (e.g. Nato & EU)?
• British citizens who are employees of international organisations in their own capacity (as opposed to as part of the official UK representation in that organisation) are subject to the same 15 year time limit as ordinary overseas voters.
What about British employees of British organisations overseas?
• British citizens who are employees of British organisations overseas other than HM Forces, the British Council or as a Crown servant are subject to the same 15 year time limit as ordinary overseas voters. What about British Citizens just turned 18 who are studying overseas?
• Someone who was too young to have registered to vote before they left the UK can still register as an overseas elector, provided that one of their parents / guardian was registered to vote at the address they were last resident at in the UK. For them the 15-year period begins from the date they left that residence in the UK.
Who can vote in the Overseas Territories?
• Commonwealth and Irish citizens living in Gibraltar are eligible to vote in the EU Referendum.
• In addition, Overseas Territory Nationals, who have British Citizenship, or British nationals who have moved to the Overseas Territories, will be eligible to vote in the EU referendum if they have been registered to vote as a resident in the UK within the last 15 years.
• If they have never been registered to vote in the UK, or last registered more than 15 years ago, they will not be eligible to vote.
Registration When should I register to vote?
• Anyone who wishes to register as an overseas elector is encouraged to do so at the earliest opportunity. The registration officer may have to come back to you in writing or by email with questions about your registration application or ask for additional information to help verify your identity.
• Unless you know you will be able to go in person to your allotted UK polling station on polling day, you will also need to complete a separate application for a postal vote or a proxy vote.
• A postal or proxy application cannot be completed online as a ’wet’ signature is required. However, electors may scan completed absent vote applications and return them to the relevant registration officer by email.
What is the final deadline for registering to vote in the EU Referendum?
• The final deadline for registering for the EU Referendum will be 12 working days before polling day. The final deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm, 11 working days before polling day.
• However, the later you leave it to register to vote or to apply for a postal vote, the less time there will be for the registration officer to resolve any questions about your application and to send out the postal ballot to you.
• If overseas voters seek to register for a postal vote just a couple of days before the final deadline it may be too late. Overseas voters must allow enough time after registering online for their postal ballot to be posted out from the UK to wherever they live overseas, and enough time to complete and post the forms back to the UK.
• Overseas electors who have any concerns about their local postal service being able to get the postal ballot to them on time are advised to consider appointing a proxy in the UK to vote on their behalf.
When is the final day people can register to vote if they live overseas?
• The final deadline for registering to vote, which is set out in law and applies to overseas and UK resident voters alike, is 12 (UK) working days before polling day.
• However, overseas voters are always encouraged to register to vote as soon as possible, and not to leave it to the last minute. Overseas voters will also need to apply for a postal or proxy vote too.
• The Electoral Commission plans to encourage overseas voters to apply to register to vote by no later than five weeks before the referendum polling day.
How do crown servants register to vote?
• Crown servants (and any spouse / civil partner with them) can register to vote online (www.gov.uk/register-to-vote) or by completing and returning a paper registration form which can be downloaded from the http://EU Referendum.
• They can register either as ordinary overseas electors to vote in elections to the UK Parliament and the European Parliament, subject to the current 15 year time limit.
• Or, they can register as crown servants by completing the relevant declaration that they are (or their spouse / civil partner is) a crown servant. The declaration forms part of the application to register both online and on the relevant paper form. People registered as crown servants can vote in all UK elections and are not subject to the 15 year time limit.
• Similar arrangements are in place for British Council employees and members of HM Armed Forces posted overseas.
Postal votes How far ahead of the referendum will postal ballots be sent out to overseas voters? And who by?
• The Chief Counting Officer (CCO) is responsible for the conduct of the referendum and has the power to direct Counting Officers in relation to the delivery of their functions.
• The CCO intends to direct Counting Officers to “ensure that postal ballot packs being sent to overseas addresses are despatched within a period of five working days starting with the day which is two working days after the last date for publication of the notice of referendum”.
• In practice this would result in postal ballot packs being despatched by the Counting Officers around one month before polling day. The exact date ranges will be confirmed at a later date
• The EU Referendum Conduct Rules say that postal votes must not be sent so as to be received earlier than 28 calendar days before the poll (i.e. they must not be received before the start of the purdah period).
By when do postal votes need to arrive back in the UK to be counted?
• Postal ballots need to have been received by the counting officer for the area in which you are registered as an overseas voter by 10pm (when the polls close) on polling day in order to be counted. • Overseas voters are encouraged to vote and return their ballots early to ensure their postal ballot is received back in time to be counted.
• If in any doubt about local postal services where you live, consider appointing someone you trust as a proxy to vote on your behalf in the UK. Proxy voters can vote by post if they wish, so do not have to go in person to the polling station allotted to you.
There were problems with postal voting by expats overseas for the General Election. What has been done to remedy this?
• The Government is working with the Electoral Commission, local authority electoral administrators, and electoral services suppliers to address the issues identified with the General Election.
• Local Authorities will find the process easier for the EU Referendum as they will not need to compile candidate lists.
• However, we would encourage everybody to register to vote as soon as possible.
What improvements have been made to the voting process?
• Changes introduced in the last Parliament to extend the timetable for Parliamentary elections from 17 to 25 (UK) working days were aimed at maximising the time available for overseas voters to receive and return their postal ballots. But these changes were not always implemented well.
• Government is working with local authorities, their print and other suppliers and Royal Mail to ensure overseas postal ballots are produced and sent out as early as possible in future, including for the EU Referendum.
If an overseas voter registers online 28 days before the referendum, how quickly will their local authority post out their ballot papers?
• The registration process for all electors is not immediate and postal ballot packs can only be sent to an elector once they have been added to the register.
• Once the application has been received by the ERO the identity of the applicant is verified and their name is added to the register at the next update. At this point the postal ballot pack can be issued which the ERO should do this as soon as is practicable.
• Given the amount of time this can take in practice, in the immediate period leading up to the referendum, anyone wishing to apply to register with the specific intention of voting in it, should strongly consider making arrangements to vote by proxy.
The campaign period and lead campaigners Is there a time limit after the referendum date is announced to when it can take place?
• The date of the referendum will be set by Government, with Parliament's approval, by means of secondary legislation. The process for securing Parliamentary approval following introduction of the secondary legislation typically takes around 4-6 weeks (not counting any Parliamentary recess), but can be quicker or longer.
• Once the date has been set, the European Union Referendum Act 2015 requires there to be a minimum period for the official referendum campaign of 10 weeks.
When will the lead campaigners be decided? And by whom?
• The start of the designation process will be set by Government, with Parliament’s approval, by secondary legislation.
• Campaigners are required to register with the Electoral Commission and apply to be designated as the lead campaigner for one side of the referendum debate. All applications are considered on their merit against a statutory test set in legislation. The Electoral Commission will then designate a lead campaigner for each side.
Local Elections Can overseas voters vote in the local elections on 5 May?
• No. Overseas voters can vote in elections to the UK Parliament and the European Parliament (if they do not opt to vote in European elections in their country of residence).
• Overseas voters cannot vote in any other UK elections, such as those which will be held on 5 May 2016. Note that this does not apply to British citizens overseas who are registered to vote as Crown Servants, British Council employees or HM Armed Forces (or any spouse / civil partner with them)
• The rationale is that overseas voters may be directly affected by decisions of the UK Parliament and are much less likely to be directly affected by decisions taken by, for example, the local authority in the area in the UK where they are registered.
• Under the terms of the European Union Referendum Act 2015, overseas voters will be able to vote in the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU which will be held on 23 June 2016.
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