Alex Easton MLA has today expressed deep concern, as the NI Electoral office has wiped clean the entire current electoral register voter base as it starts the process to renew the register.
Speaking today Alex Easton MLA:
“ I am deeply concerned at the amount of people who have approached me to say they are not aware they are no longer on the electoral register that they have not received anything in the post to say they are no longer registered. In the past people were sent out a letter and the forms, this is no longer the case unless you are a pensioner. I myself have reregister but I was not sent anything to say there was a new process in place and that people have to reregister on line, this is an easy process but not everyone is online either so I fear the consequences for the new electoral register will be for 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 years 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 they have access to a computer to reregister to vote or if you get need to do a paper version then to contact the electoral office or contact my office urgently. It only takes one minute of your life to fill in an electoral form on line or by 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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