How do I register to vote for the European Elections?
Note: this post is from Spring 2019.
Despite the UK voting to leave the European Union in 2016, a delay in Brexit negotiations mean that the UK is currently still a member of the EU and therefore may have to elect representatives to the European Parliament along with the 27 other member states. Read our full guide to the european elections. If you want to vote in these elections, you’ll first need to be registered.
Step 1: Check if you’re eligible to vote in the European Parliament elections.
In order to vote in the European Parliament elections you must be;
- Aged 18 years of age or over on polling day (23rd May)
- a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen, or a citizen of the European Union
- resident in the UK
- a UK citizen living abroad who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years
- not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote
Step 2: Register to vote before May 7th.
In order to vote in the elections you must first be registered. You might have already registered ahead of General or Local elections, but if you’re not sure, your details have changed, or if you’ve moved house since you registered you should re-register just in case.
It takes just 5 mins, and you’ll need your name, address and national insurance number. Learn more about registering to vote.
Step 3: If you’re an EU citizen, but want to vote in the UK, you need to fill in a form.
According to the Electoral Commission, if you’re an EU citizen (of a country other than the UK, Republic of Ireland, Malta and Cyprus), you can either vote in the UK or in your home country – but you can’t vote twice.
If you want to vote in the UK you must be registered to vote (see step 2) and then complete the following form stating you wish to vote in the UK and not in your home country.
Download the EU citizen – European Parliament voter registration form
After completing the form, you need to send it to your local authority by the 7 May 2019 (find yours here).
PS: Remember a lot of areas also have local elections on May 2nd – we have some info on them here.
