News Annual Household Canvass
Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) is reminding everyone to make sure their household information is up-to-date through the annual household canvass and to renew their postal votes if they applied for one before 31 October 2023.
MBC has a responsibility for maintaining an accurate electoral register and to know who is eligible to register to vote within every household. The annual canvass is key to achieving this, and you can help by responding to upcoming communications from the Council.
Canvass communications have been sent out and the deadline for responses is Sunday 3 August 2025. It is important to check the details and submit your response as soon as possible using the online response service.
The Council is trialling a new contact method for 2025 to reduce printing and paper waste by using email wherever possible. This is the first time that MBC has used this contact method and emails will be sent from GOV.UK Notify.
Reminder alerts will be issued to properties who have not responded to the Canvass in early August. After this, telephone canvassing will begin from 11 August and door knocking to gather this remaining information starts on 1 September.
For security, the Council is asking those residents who are visited at their homes to check the ID and letter of authorisation that each of the MBC officials will have with them as representatives of the Electoral Registration Officer.
It is a legal requirement for UK citizens to ensure all information is up-to-date and correct. The details gathered are treated confidentially and enable MBC to make sure that everyone who is eligible to vote is registered.
With the Government considering expanding the voting age to 16 year olds, it is also important to include details of any 16 and 17 year olds who may be eligible to register to vote in your household as part of your response.
Angela Woodhouse, MBC Electoral Registration Officer, said: “It is really important that everyone has the opportunity to vote in elections, providing your household information enables us to inform you when that time comes. I encourage everyone to please complete these forms as soon as they can, and to renew their postal vote.”
Following changes introduced by the Elections Act 2022, postal voters are now required to renew their postal vote every three years.
All postal voters who completed an application before 31 October 2023 are required to reapply for their postal vote, or it will expire. There are over 20,000 postal voters in Maidstone will need to reapply ahead of upcoming elections in order to make their voices heard and their votes count. Applications can be made online at https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote.
More information can be found on the MBC website pages: Annual Household Canvass and Postal Vote Renewal.