Why Is It Important To Vote In The Uk Essay

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Another point about living abroad is that you don’t need to lose your right to vote in the UK. An alarming number of Britons do not seem to know or care about this. Although approximately 6 million British people live overseas, only 20,000 of them, about a third of one percent, are registered to vote in British elections.
If you live abroad you still have the right to vote in UK national and European Union elections. You just need to apply to be a registered overseas voter. Note that registering as an overseas voter does not give you the right to participate in local elections, mayoral elections, or elections to any of the devolved governments in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. If you are living in another European Union country, you will be able to participate in local or EU elections there. However, you can only vote in EU elections in one country. …show more content…

To be eligible, you must have been registered to vote in the UK prior to leaving, or, if you were below the voting age while in Britain, your parents or guardians must have been registered to vote instead. When applying from abroad, you will need to find another British citizen, one who is not a close relative, to witness your application form and sign it.
You should bear in mind that it does take some time for your application to be processed, so if you plan to register only at the last minute, you may be too late. To be safe, you should begin the registration process at least two months before an election is due to be held.
Once you have been registered you have two options about how to exercise your right to vote from overseas: by post or by proxy. You will need to fill in a separate application form for either of these two options, although this can be done on the same form in which you register to vote

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