Very helpful article here, courtesy of Al Shaw at Redland People.

With Bristol West being actively targeted

by all the main political parties as a "must win" seat, local residents

risk missing out on their chance to influence the outcome of this

summer's general election if they are not on the electoral register. The

good news is that it's not too late to register to vote - even if you

have never voted before or your circumstances have changed.

Residents

have to renew their details every year, even if they have not moved

house. Bristol City Council, like most local authorities, conducts an

annual canvas of residents every autumn and delivers a registration form

to each household. Completing and returning it is a legal  requirement

and information collected is used to create the electoral register for

each authority on December 1st. For reasons of confidentiality, the

register is not available online but can be viewed at the Central

Library or the Council House at College Green.

If, for whatever

reason, your name was not added to the electoral register last year, you

can add it yourself now.  Please note that paying income tax or council

tax does not mean you are on the electoral register. This is a separate

list of people eligible to vote in local, national and European

elections. To register now, download and print a registration form from

the government's site About my Vote  . The

completed form needs to then be sent to the City Council at the following

address:

Electoral Services

The Exchange

Corn

Street

Bristol

BS1 5TR

Tel (0117) 922 3790

E-mail

electoral.services@bristol.gov.uk

Particular

arrangements apply for certain distinct categories of residents, as

follows:

Students

As

long as you are on the electoral register, you can vote in the place

where you are living on the day of the general election - either in

Bristol during term time or at home if you happen to be there on that

day. Uniquely among British voters, you can actually

vote twice in the

same local election in two different council areas - but not twice in a

parliamentary election. As the student vote played a key role in the last

general election in Bristol West, the candidates

know that your

participation is going to count again

this year. The current MP, Stephen

Williams, is the LibDem's spokesman

on Higher Education and a regular

contributor in parliament on this

area of policy.

Young People

If you are aged 16 or over, you can

register to vote but are not allowed to cast your vote until you are 18.

The benefits of registering now are that, firstly, when the next

electoral register is compiled in the autumn, you will automatically be

on it, thus reducing the chance of you missing out in the future. Also,

in a by-election (when a councillor or MP leaves

office mid-term for whatever reason), you will be eligible to vote in

that by-election as soon as you are 18. Of course, if your 18th birthday

falls between now and the date of the next general electuon (widely

predicted for May 6th), you definitely need to be on the register now.

Foreign

Nationals

If you are a citizen of the UK, Ireland, the

Commonwealth or the European Union, you can register to vote. EU

citizens can vote in local elections (including the ones for Bristol

City Council scheduled for May 6th) and European elections, but not in

national elections to the UK Parliament. The exception to the above rule

is that EU citizens from Ireland, Malta and Cyprus are eligible to

vote in all UK elections.

Commonwealth

citizens who have leave to remain in the UK, or who do not require it,

are eligible to register and vote in all UK elections. The same applies

to citizens from British Overseas Terrorities. Falkland Islanders take

note.

Brits

Abroad

British ciizens who have been on the electoral register

within the last 15 years can register as an overseas voter if they

normally reside outside the UK. In this case, you are eligible to vote

in UK general elections and European elections, but not in local

government elections.