Today Matt Delapp from the Consulate joined Bobby Gee on his Breakfast show on Island FM to discuss voting in the forthcoming UK General Election on12 December 2019. Part of the discussion was as to whether UK citizens living abroad will be able to vote, and how they can register for voting. Anyone who has lived overseas for fifteen years or less CAN register to vote, and this is easily done by going to the GOV.UK WEBSITE – you can also type https://www.gov.uk/voting-when-abroad into your internet browser.
It’s very easy to register to vote and you just need to follow the steps. Remember, if you have lived abroad for more than fifteen years you will NOT be allowed to register to vote. Anyone intending on voting in the forthcoming election MUST register by Tuesday 26th November 2019, after that date you will NOT be able to register and will be unable to vote. If you haven’t voted before but want to vote even if you are living abroad, you can still vote, by registering.
Once you have registered to vote, you have two voting options if you’re a UK Citizen living abroad, these are postal vote or proxy vote. A postal vote means you rely on ballot papers being sent out to you, a proxy vote is where someone votes on your behalf. The deadline for postal vote application is 26th November 2019. If you want to vote by proxy the application must be received by 5pm on the 04 December 2019.
Due to the short length of time between the registration and this General Election, a proxy vote may be the best option for many UK residents living abroad.
There is more information in the radio interview link below, thanks to Peter Lee for recording.