Right to vote gets lost in the move
Friday, 15 Dec 2006 00:01
Nearly half of all home movers lose something when moving with the right to vote topping the list
Britons are losing the right to vote when they move more than any other item, a survey out today reveals.
Around 46 per cent of people who moved home in the last two years lost at least one item in the process.
And the item they were most likely to lose was their vote, with 15 per cent not updating the electoral register with their new address.
The Electoral Commission's survey, conducted by YouGov, finds other items the country's movers tended to lose were clothing (14 per cent), an important document (14 per cent), clothing accessories (11 per cent) and CDs, DVDs and videos (11 per cent).
"Moving home is stressful and we recognise that updating the electoral register is never going to be top of the 'to do's' when you're knee deep in packing boxes. But if you have moved house recently or are moving soon, we really urge you not to lose your right," advised Stephen Rooney of The Electoral Commission.
He added: "Once you’ve settled in, give your new address details to your council. If you’ve had a form delivered through your door simply fill this in and return it."
To register a new address on the electoral register see
www.aboutmyvote.co.uk
The top ten items lost when moving home
1 - The vote (15 per cent)
2 - Clothing (14 per cent of movers had lost an item of clothing)
3 - An important document (14 per cent)
4 - “I lost something but not sure what….” (14 per cent)
5 - Accessories such as shoes and bags (11 per cent)
6 - CDs, DVDs or videos (11 per cent)
7 - Cooking equipment (9 per cent)
8 - Books (8 per cent)
9 - Jewellery (7 per cent)
10 - An item of sentimental value (6 per cent)