Electoral Registrations on the Rise as Brits Finally Get The Message

Electoral Registrations on the Rise as Brits Finally Get The Message

The number of Brits abroad that are registered to vote has risen a massive 80,000 in the past two months in the lead-up to the EU referendum.

The biggest vote in UK for generations

There are two things said a lot about Brits that live abroad and both of them seem to be accurate. The first is that they never learn the Spanish language. The other is that they never show any interest in voting in a UK election.

Recent figures from the Electoral Commission has shown that Brits abroad are finally getting the message about making their voices heard in British matters though.

During the general election last year only 106,000 Brits in over 5.5 million living overseas were registered to vote. This was used to bash British expats with many considering them traitors who no longer care about Britain and have long since turned their back on their home country.

An awareness campaign was launched in March and it seems to have achieved some success. The Electoral Commission shows that 80,000 Brits have registered to vote and will be taking part in the EU Referendum.

While it is true that the figure is still a disturbingly low 186,000 the Electoral Commission decided to take a look at why there was so much apathy expressed by expats. They discovered that 20% of the people they asked were under the false impression that they would be ineligible to vote. It seems expats literally don’t realise they can vote.

The poll also discovered that 30% of British voters living in the cities around spain were not sure about their right to vote. This suggests that all of the campaigns for Brits to vote in the EU Referendum and get involved have failed. Roughly 22% of the Brits living abroad can be found in the EU. Most of them are in Spain. These are the people who are going to be affected the most if Britain leaves the EU.

Last month the challenge taken to the British High Court by two expats to have the 15-year voting rule thrown out was denied by the judges. This means that the only Brits abroad that can vote are those who have been registered in a UK constituency in the past 15 years. As long as they are registered to vote that is.

Brits abroad only ha until May 16^th to register to vote; If they miss out then they miss their chance to vote and have their voice heard in the election. If they do miss this chance they can also choose someone to vote on their behalf. The deadline to register a proxy is June 7^th.

The director of communications with the Electoral Commission, Alex Robertson, believes that many expats will want to have their voices heard so he is determined to give them the chance to do so. He knows how significant the EU Referendum is and wants to get everyone who can vote out there voting.

If someone registers to vote by May 16^th they could vote using a postal service vote. Postal votes are sent out early so that they can arrive in time to be counted in the UK. If people don’t believe they can cast a postal vote in time or they missed out on the 16^th May deadline it is possible to register a proxy to vote on their behalf.