WHENEVER an election is called, whether it is for a parish council or for a general election, there are always people who want to vote but who have not registered to do so. They have effectively lost their democratic rights because they have not registered to vote.

The right to vote is integral to the whole democratic process. Casting the vote enables us to influence decisions over issues from global policy through to local ones affecting our local community. Like anyone who is actively involved in politics I find it hard to understand why someone would not want to be able to exercise the democratic rights which, over the centuries, previous generations fought vigorously to secure. Yet the fact remains that some people do not even take the first step of participating in our democracy, because they do not register.

This is the time of year when our local councils send out forms inviting people to register and I want to encourage everyone to do so.

Although the main electoral register is compiled once a year, the law was changed some time ago and it is now possible to register at any time throughout the whole of the year. Updated registers are compiled once a month, so, if you move after completing the form, you can re-register at your new address. The main register is published in December each year.

The website www.aboutmyvote.co.uk offers a great deal of information about who is eligible to register. It also punctures some surprisingly common myths about registration.

For instance, at this time of year, many 18 year olds may be leaving home for the first time to go off and study elsewhere. One of the myths is that students have to go home to register and vote there. In fact, this is not the case. Students can be registered at their home and also at their address during term-time. However, I hasten to add that they can only use one vote!

Other people may think that, because they are paying the council tax, this automatically means they are registered to vote. That is not the case. Others might be under the impression that, because they have moved to a new address within the same local authority area, they will be automatically re-registered. That too is not the situation – if you move, you will need to register to vote at your new home. But, as I said earlier, that can now be done at any time of the year.

There have been many changes like extending the polling hours, the use of postal and proxy votes so that anyone entitled to vote can register to do so and exercise this tremendous personal freedom.