The K&A boaters action group has a big pile of voter registration forms that we would like to deliver to as many boats as we can this week, starting tomorrow (Monday 18th March). We need some help doing this!! If you can cycle along a stretch of towpath delivering these forms, please ring/text 07928 078208 or email info@boatingcommunity.org.uk
There will be local elections this year on May 2nd and the deadline for getting on the register so you can vote on May 2nd is April 17th 2013.
Boaters (and other people without a fixed address) have the right to vote even without a fixed address. Voting in the elections in Wiltshire and BaNES could make the difference between these councils continuing the support for liveaboard boaters that they have recently begun to show or not. Of course, it depends who you vote for, and not everyone agrees with voting. It’s entirely up to the individual whether they register, but if you don’t know about registering to vote without an address, you can’t make an informed choice. Before the 2010 general election, several boaters cycled from Dundas to Foxhangers and delivered these forms one afternoon.
The registration form asks you to declare a local connection, in other words to say where you spend most of your time. You can give a care of postal address for your voting card to be sent to, or you can collect your voting card from the Council offices. You will need to renew your registration every year if you want to stay on the register.
The information you give on the form won’t be shared with CRT (it’s against the Data Protection Act to share it), so saying where you most often moor cannot trigger enforcement action against you. The same form will cover you if you want to be registered under BaNES, Wiltshire, West Berkshire or Reading Councils.
You can also download the form here boater_electoral_registration
Tags: BANES Council, continuous cruising, electoral registration, electoral roll, liveaboards, voting, Wiltshire County Council