Wiltshire Council is starting its annual process of ensuring the county's electoral register is up to date, which helps ensure people don’t lose their chance to vote on decisions that affect them.
The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) has a legal requirement to conduct a yearly canvass to ensure the electoral register is accurate and complete. The annual canvass process runs from July to November.
The Electoral Register will be published with the changes from the Annual Canvass on 1st December 2026.
Each household will receive at least one form of canvass communication (email, letter, or form) asking for confirmation of who lives at the address, to check who is eligible to register to vote.
Not all households will receive an email, letter or form at the same time. The form or email will have clear instructions as to whether each household needs to reply.
Emails will be sent in August and September to those people the council has email addresses for, with forms posted to relevant people from this month (July).
The quickest and easiest way for people to confirm details on the Electoral Register, once they have received the instructions, is by using the secure online system at www.householdresponse.com/wiltshire and the security codes provided in the email or letter.
The council may email more than one person in the same household, but only one person from each household needs to respond.
Households that require a person to be added or removed can update details either using the online system or by completing and returning the form. If no changes are required, responses can be made by text, phone, online or by returning the form. Responses are required as soon as possible to avoid forms or reminders being sent to your property.
Wiltshire Council encourages all residents to respond to the annual canvass electronically if they can, and more than half did so via online, text and phone last year.
As part of the Annual Canvass process, Wiltshire Council will never ask people for their bank details.
The council is also reminding people that due to a change in law, anyone who applied for a postal vote before 31 January 2024 must apply for their postal vote again before 31 January 2026 or it will be cancelled. People can apply for a postal vote by visiting https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote.
Lucy Townsend, Wiltshire Electoral Registration Officer, said: “The annual canvass is our way of making sure that the information on the electoral register for every address is accurate and up to date. As we’ve had two major elections in the past year, the register should be in a fairly good place, but this is a legal process we must follow, and I encourage people to respond as quickly as possible.
“People have a legal obligation to confirm their details, and when they receive an email or form from us, it’s a simple process. In addition, and separate to the canvass process, if anyone applied for a postal vote before 31 January 2024, then please do so again by 31 January 2026. Our records show that’s around fifty thousand postal voters, and it’s a quick and straightforward process for them to reapply for your postal vote online at www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote.
“Thanks to everyone for their support with this.”
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