Alex Easton MLA expresses deep concern, as it has come to light from a recent writtenresponse from the NI Electoral office that there are 7800 homes across North Down that are not registered to vote.
Speaking today Alex Easton MLA:
“ I am deeply concerned at the amount of people who have approached me to say they had gone out to vote and were told they were no longer on the NI Electoral register once they got to the polling stations. The numbers of people telling me this is very worrying. I contacted the NI Electoral Office to find out how many homes were not registered in the North Down area, and I was rather shocked and startled to discover that 7800 homes across North Down are not registered to vote. If you take an assumption that there are two people to every house, you can assume 15,600 people cannot vote in North Down .”
“My big fear that if we had the scenario that the Secretary of State was to ever call a snap Border Poll on a United Ireland then those people would not be able to vote. In recent weeks we have seen the call for referendums in Scotland and in Northern Ireland as those who were buoyed by recent election results and want separation from the rest of the United Kingdom are calling for referendums. Are we going to allow ourselves to be caught out in North Down by not being registered to vote? I am currently working on a major piece of work to get people registered and I would encourage people if you get an electoral form through your door to fill it in and send it away urgently. It only takes one minute of your life to fill in an electoral form and five minutes to buy a stamp and post it. You will be on the electoral register for ten years. It is to the benefit for everyone to be on the electoral register, it helps when applying for a mortgage or for a loan; it also gives you the chance to ensure we collectively are not caught out if a referendum on any issue is ever called unexpectedly. Please see contact details in my statement for the NI Electoral Office, please get yourself on the electoral register.”
Electoral Office Headquarters is located at:
St Anne’s House
15 Church Street
Belfast
BT1 1ER
028 9044 6688.
Email: info@eoni.org.uk
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