🗳️ UK expats can still register for upcoming general election

The UK Electoral Commission has announced that British citizens living abroad who are eligible to vote in the upcoming general election on 4 July can still register to vote before midnight on Tuesday, 18 June. This comes after a law change that allows British citizens living overseas to vote regardless of how long they have been living outside the UK. Previously, British nationals who had lived abroad for more than 15 years lost their voting rights. Since the abolition of the 15-year rule on 16 January 2024, over 100,000 applications to register to vote have been made by UK citizens living overseas. 🌍

Applicants will need to provide details of the address and time they were last registered or resident in the UK. Craig Westwood, Director of Communications at the UK Electoral Commission, encouraged eligible individuals living abroad to register. He also stressed the importance of proving a connection to the constituency where the applicant was last registered to vote. Applications can be made online, and many overseas voters will also need to apply for an absent vote if they will not be in the country on election day. The deadline to apply for a postal vote is BST 5:00pm on 19 June, and to apply for a proxy vote is BST 5:00pm on 26 June. 📮

Proxy voting may be a preferred option for anyone living further afield who is concerned about how long it might take to receive and return a postal vote. To check their eligibility to vote, British citizens abroad can call the local authority where they were last registered to vote or where they last lived in the UK. Details of the local authority can be found on the Electoral Commission website. 📞