Q2A

Got an enquiry ........

hi
im 17.. my birthday ius july 23rd..
im wondering weather im allowed to vote this year (: ??
duno who im going to vote for.. jus want to cuz if i can i will lol x

This is our reply.......

Hi VOTEing, and many thanks for your enquiry!

In order to be able to vote you have to be aged 18 on the day of the general election which
this year is 6th May 2010. Therefore this year you will unfortunately not be able to vote
and will have to wait until the elections held after your 18th birthday.

You can ask for your name to be added to the Electoral Register now but you won't be
sent a polling card until you're 18 and old enough to vote. (The polling card tells you the
date of the election and where your polling station is.) You can contact your local council
at any time to do this (see the contact details below) or you can wait until your local
council sends a form to your house, usually between the second and 4th week in August
of each year, and add your name to it then. If you're 17 and live independently you can
complete your own form. If you want to register to vote now contact:

# Preston City Council, Electoral Services, 01772 906908
# collect a Voter Registration Form from the reception desk in the Town Hall
# print off the form from the website (http://www.preston.gov.uk/council-and-
democracy/electoral-register/register-vote/). Complete it and return it to Electoral
Services, Town Hall, Preston. PR1 2RL

If anyone in your household needs to register to be able to vote in the upcoming General
Election and the local elections to be held on the 6th May this year the last day they can
register is 20th April.

There is lots of general information about elections and voting at:

· http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/
· http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk

The cycle of elections is generally:

# Preston City Council Elections (called local elections) are on the first Thursday in
May every year when a proportion of the councillors' seats are contested (usually a third)

# Lancashire County Council Elections (also called local elections) are on the first
Thursday in May every 4 years when every councillor's seat is contested. The last County
elections were in 2009 so the next will be in 2013

# General Elections aren't held on a set day but there must be one at least every 5
years

# European Parliamentary Elections are held every 5 years. The last election was
in 2009 so the next will be in 2014. There is no set day but they are usually held on the
same day as the local elections

So it looks as though the first chance you'll get to vote is the local elections in May 2012.
However, you may get a chance to vote earlier if there is a by election. These take place
when a councillor or Member of Parliament resigns or dies. There might also be another
General Election quite soon, depending on what happens on the 6th May this year.

When looking at which party or candidate to vote for it can all get rather complicated and
confusing. It's best to do some research and see what the parties stand for and what their
policies are. Perhaps it would be easier for you to decide which parties you prefer if you
decide on one particular aspect of policy that affects you or you are interested in, and
compare what all the different parties say they would do on this topic.

When the date of any election has been called your household will start to get leaflets
through the door from the local candidates which will tell you what they are offering. If you
start to read through these now it will prepare you for when you're old enough to vote.
Other places to look for information include:

# http://www.general-election-2010.co.uk
# http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/1/hi/uk_politics/default.stm
# local and national newspapers
# TV/Radio news
# The websites of the political parties and candidates. There are far too many to list
here but the addresses will be on their leaflets, in the newspapers etc.

We hope this information helps, if you need any further information on this or anything else
then please contact us again.

Best Wishes

q2a

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