General Election 2019: How to register to vote for election and deadline for registering

The general election, which is the third in four and a half years, will take place in just over a months time.

Britain will go to the polls on Thursday, December 12 – so get ready for a lot of Christmas themed election puns in the coming weeks.

Here’s all you need to know about registering to vote in the general election 2019:

Who needs to register?

If you have never voted, have moved constituency or have turned 18 recently then you will need to register if you have not done so already.

Parliament confirms general election will take place in December

When can I register?

Assuming you are eligible, you can register any time but, be aware, there is a deadline.

With the snap election taking place on December 12, the deadline for applying to register to vote is at midnight on November 26.

You can even get yourself on the register if you are 16 or 17 but you will need to have turned 18 before the election date to actually be eligible to vote.

How do I check if I am already registered?

If you are not sure whether or not you are registered, you should check with your local electoral registration office.

You can find the local authority to get in contact with here by clicking this link.

How can I register if I need to?

You can make sure you are registered to vote by visiting the government’s website here and filling out the relevant forms.

Alternatively, you can register by post.

To do this you can download the forms here and then post them.

What if I live abroad?

You can register as an overseas voter for up to 15 years after you left the country, if you are a British citizen and you have been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years (or if you were too young to register when you left).

If you are serving in the armed forces abroad there is a special form you can fill out here: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote-armed-forces. Likewise, if you are a Crown servant and British Council employee working abroad: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote-crown-servants-british-council-employees.