Look out for your canvass communication arriving by email or post
What is the annual canvass?
Each year, we are required by law to undertake an annual canvass of all households in the District to ensure the electoral register is up to date. The purpose of the canvass is to find out if there are any changes to the household so we can remove the details of people who no longer live there and invite new occupants to register individually.
How does the annual canvass work?
The canvass process starts with an initial data matching exercise with Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) records. From there, different correspondence will be sent to households where the data has matched and to those where there was no match (either a no match or partial match).
The results of this data matching exercise determines whether the electors living in each property are likely to have changed or not.
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If the records show that the details for a property are unlikely to have changed, the property will follow the Route 1 canvass process.
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If there are people at a property that cannot be matched or the data matching process indicates that there may be a change to the information for a property, the property will follow the Route 2 canvass process.
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Care homes and nursing homes and all other properties that have a responsible person such as a duty manager, will follow the Route 3 canvass process. This involves contact being made with the manager or other responsible person of the establishment.
Communication - what will you receive?
Depending on the result of the data matching for each property, in August and September households will receive.
If the data matches (Route 1 properties):
Emails:
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If an email address is held for anyone registered at a Route 1 property we will send an email on 22 August 2024. The email you will receive will look like this Email example.
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The purpose of the email communication is to ask householders to check the names of people registered at an address using an online system. Households can respond using the link www.householdresponse.com/southkesteven and security codes provided in the email to log in and confirm or update the details.
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When you click on the website link to respond to the email, the unique codes are pre-filled with the security codes and you will be asked to enter your postcode. If the post code you enter does not match the record we hold you will not be able to log in - please contact the Electoral Services team for further advice on 01476 406080.
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If you receive an email with the subject of 'Act now so South Kesteven District Council can check who is eligible to be registered to vote at your address' please help us to reduce our costs by responding online by 4 September - where a response is not received we are required to send a further communication to the property by post.
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Only one response is required per household.
Postal Communication addressed to 'The Occupier':
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Households that do not respond to the email and those where we do not hold any email addresses will be sent a form on 19 September. This form is known as a Canvass Communication A (CCA) form.
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You will be asked to check the names of people registered at the address. If all the information is correct, no response is required.
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If any of the details need to be changed or names need to be added or removed, householders can respond online www.householdresponse.com/southkesteven, and use the security codes printed on the letter to log in and register the changes.
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Anyone unable to report any changes using the online method, can call our electoral services team on 01476 406080.
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This communication by post will not be sent if a response has already been received to an email communication.
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If the data does not match (Route 2 properties):
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Canvass Form (CF) addressed to 'The Occupier' will be sent by post from 22 August. The form will list the names of the people who are currently registered at the address. A reply envelope will be enclosed.
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A response is required to this form even if there are no changes to report.
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Responses to this form can be made by any of the following methods:
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Online at www.householdresponse.com/southkesteven. You will need the security numbers which are printed on the front page of the form. You can make changes to the details for your household using this service; or
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Complete the paper form and return it using the pre-paid envelope; or
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If nothing has changed and the details printed on the form are correct, you can also phone 0800 884 0701 to confirm there are no changes. You will need the security numbers printed on the front page of the form to confirm by phone. You can only use this option if there are no changes to report to the details printed on the form.
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If we do not receive a response to this form, a reminder letter will be sent towards the end of September. If we receive no response to the reminder, we are required to contact you either by telephone or make a visit to your property to confirm the details.
What happens next?
If you tell us there are new people eligible to be registered, they will each need to register individually. They can go online to register at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. If they do not apply online we will send an "invitation to register" to each person you have added (these will be sent either by email or post). Each person is required to provide their National Insurance number and date of birth when they apply to be registered.
If you tell us someone has moved away, we may need to send a further letter to each individual so that we have confirmation that they have moved away. This is because we are required to have two pieces of evidence to remove someone from the electoral register.
If you tell us that someone has changed their name, we will send them a further letter to request a copy of their marriage or deed poll certificate to enable their name to be changed on the register.
Do I need to re-register each year?
Once you're registered you don't need to register again unless you change your address or name. However you will receive a Canvass Communication every year, even if you are already registered. This means we can ensure the register is kept up to date.
Will my details be shared with other organisations?
Using information received from the public, registration officers keep two registers - the Electoral Register and the open register (also known as the edited register).
Find out more about opting in/out of the open register
View the Electoral Services Privacy Notice
If you have a query regarding the canvass communication you have received or about registering to vote, please contact the electoral services team during normal office hours on 01476 40 60 80 or email elections@southkesteven.gov.uk