Access to the Register
ListenThe Electoral Registration Officer is required by law to make and keep two versions of the Register:
- The full version of the Register contains the names of all eligible electors within the Borough of Bracknell Forest. Only certain persons and organisations are allowed by law to have copies of this version of the Register of Electors. They are only permitted by law to use it for specified purposes, including electoral purposes, the prevention and the detection of crime and checking your identity when you have applied for credit. It is a criminal offence for them to pass information from the Register of Electors on to an unauthorised party or to use it for any other purpose.
- The edited version of the Register of Electors leaves out the names and addresses of electors who have asked for them to be excluded from this version of the Register, and it may be purchased by anyone for any purpose, including direct marketing. The edited register can be inspected at any library in the Borough.
If any voter wishes not to have their details sold they can request not to appear in the edited version. Over half of the electors in the Borough have stated that they only wish to appear in the Full Register, access to which is restricted by law.
Leaving your name off the edited register will not affect your voting rights or credit status.
Credit Reference Agencies are the only commercial organisation permitted by law to buy the Full Register. They are permitted by legislation to use it only for their own purposes and are not allowed to sell it on to other companies.
No other commercial firm can buy the Full Register, but any firm or individual can buy the edited register and use it for any purpose.
Any person may call at this Council's offices and inspect the full Register but they are only permitted to make handwritten notes.
The register is not an alphabetical listing of electors. The registers are arranged by ward, in alphabetical street order with names of electors appearing against each property.
Telephone queries to the Election Services office will only be carried out against the edited register, however we will not undertake name searches.
It is known that some websites are promoting themselves as having the Register of Electors – however, as outlined above such sites cannot buy the register.
It is understood that steps are being considered at national level between the Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Justice to address this problem. In the meantime the Electoral Commission advises any member of the public who is not happy about use of their data to contact:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone:01625 545700
Email mail@ico.gsi.gov.uk
The Information Commissioner's website provides details on how to complain about the use of data under the Data Protection Act 1988.
However the voters’ register is not the only way of getting people's data, for example other business information suppliers' databases may be used.
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