The Student Room Group

Β£80 fine if I don't register to vote?

I decided to register to vote in the MEP elections last year as well as the local elections. This turned out to be a massive mistake as when I returned to my student house this year I have a letter threatening me with an Β£80 fine if I don't reregister by July! Obviously July is long gone and after this crap I don't really want to stay registered to vote any more and I certainly don't want to give up more personal information to make it easier to fine me in future for other things. Do I just ignore the letter and tell them to piss off if they try and fine me? Is there a way to opt-out of voter registration?

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Read it again!

It is a completely reasonable move by the government to prevent electoral fraud. You have clearly been registered on the electoral roll in two places, home and university.

According to Yougov you cannot opt out if requested to fill in the form. However it does not say you will be fined, only that you may be fined.

Your desire to opt out of civic responsibility is infantile.
(edited 9 years ago)
People died for the right to vote and continue to be persecuted in parts of the world today. So would you like to be represented by some UKIP person or the BNP? You can be sure their supporters register.

All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by balotelli12

It is a completely reasonable move by the government to prevent electoral fraud. You have clearly been registered on the electoral roll in two places, home and university.


If that's the case then it seems really stupid of them to have sent it out over the summer with a deadline of a single week to return it. I doubut I am the only one who has missed the deadline by a massive amount.

Original post by balotelli12
Your desire to opt out of civic responsibility is infantile.


It's not a responsibility if you are forced to do it. I'm sorry you disagree with my desire to not be blackmailed.
Original post by barnetlad
People died for the right to vote and continue to be persecuted in parts of the world today. So would you like to be represented by some hateful UKIP person or the BNP? You can be sure their supporters register.

All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.


I appreciate that people have given a lot to ensure I have the right to vote but why should that be at the expense of my right not to vote (or at least not register to vote). I suspect you may be on to something when you mention UKIP. It seems likley that their success in the European Parliment elections has caused the government to introduce this fine for not registering as a way to get people like students (who often don't vote) to register, especially since students are likley to vote for the more mainstream parties.

I don't see why I should recieve a threatening letter in the mail just because I chose to fulfill my civic duty by voting in the MEP elections.
What an odd thing. I've never registered to vote and have never received such a threat. It's weird that they would threaten people to vote if they register previously but don't bother people who never registered in the first place.
Original post by OMGWTFBBQ
This has nothing to do with your right to vote, which is not in question.

This is to do with preventing electoral fraud. You should respond immediately. You are extremely unlikely to be fined and even if you were you could challenge that fine as unreasonable and probably win.


Thanks. This is the sort of information I was hoping for rather than a discussion of whether or not I should vote. So providing them the information late is unlikley to result in a fine?
I think there has been some confusion over this issue recently.

It has always been the case that it was compulsory to register to vote, and the maximum penalty for failing to do so was Β£1000, although you would need prosecuted and fined by the courts.

In the past however, each household was sent a form, and it was the responsibility of one person to fill it out with all the details of everyone else in that household eligible to vote. If you lived with your parents then, you may well find that they did it for you in the past. If you didn't fill it out, after getting a few reminders, you would find a 'canvasser' arrive at your doorstep to do it for you there and then. It was only those persistently evading the requirement that would be prosecuted. You would also find it very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain any credit if you weren't on (at least the edited) roll.

They changed the system recently so each individual is now responsible for there own registration; very few people were prosecuted under the old system as it was difficult to identify who was at fault - remember, it was norm that often someone would register you on your behalf, and people would always argue they had been told someone at the address had registered them.

With the switch to IER, the government also changed it so that councils can issue a Β£80 civil penalty, like a parking ticket, to those failing to register, to make it easier to enforce.

TL;DR: Yes, it is compulsory, but it always has been.
Reply 8
Sorry for reviving this thread after a few weeks but I just had a canvasser around this morning, telling us all that we had to register or we could be fined, and while she appeared genuine, had ID etc, I found it so strange that thought it might be some kind of phishing scam. I took the form, advised her I'd look into it, but apparently for doing this I'm going to be reported for "being difficult" :eek:

Anyway, I was reading this website: http://www.if.org.uk/archives/2252/government-proposes-fines-for-not-registering-to-vote and of particular interest was this quote:

The intention is that only those who refuse repeatedly can be fined. We don’t think it’s particularly helpful to democracy if we start fining hundreds of thousands of people.


Since I'm already registered to vote at another address in the UK, I'm curious how could it be said that I'm refusing to register, which was the implication this morning (even though I told her I'm not refusing, just that I'm uncomfortable giving personal information to someone I've never seen before on the doorstep)? That said, a random quote is not law, so I'm curious whether anyone here actually knows or could point me in the direction of some information which makes it a little more clear?

Also curious whether it is possible to register anonymously....actually that sounds a little silly, but what I mean is in an ex-directory way where the information is not given to anyone outside of the electoral services?
Reply 9
Original post by Alzir
Sorry for reviving this thread after a few weeks but I just had a canvasser around this morning, telling us all that we had to register or we could be fined, and while she appeared genuine, had ID etc, I found it so strange that thought it might be some kind of phishing scam. I took the form, advised her I'd look into it, but apparently for doing this I'm going to be reported for "being difficult" :eek:

Anyway, I was reading this website: http://www.if.org.uk/archives/2252/government-proposes-fines-for-not-registering-to-vote and of particular interest was this quote:



Since I'm already registered to vote at another address in the UK, I'm curious how could it be said that I'm refusing to register, which was the implication this morning (even though I told her I'm not refusing, just that I'm uncomfortable giving personal information to someone I've never seen before on the doorstep)? That said, a random quote is not law, so I'm curious whether anyone here actually knows or could point me in the direction of some information which makes it a little more clear?

Also curious whether it is possible to register anonymously....actually that sounds a little silly, but what I mean is in an ex-directory way where the information is not given to anyone outside of the electoral services?


Yes you just need to tick the box to opt out of the full electoral roll
Firstly there's no point in voting if all parties are equally as bad. Secondly unless they sent it by recorded delivery, they can't prove you had received it therefore you can't be fined for something you were unaware of.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Utter rubbish!
If you don't vote, don't complain about any aspect of Life.
And balotelli12 misses the point by a spectacular margin.

I have just had this brought to my attention. Having never voted - and not intending to - I find it alarming that my conscientious objection to partaking in a system I find fatally flawed can be met with financial repercussions. I feel as though I am being told 'vote or suffer', which comes across as authoritarian considering I elect not to vote because I do not feel represented by any of the candidates present.

If I continue to entirely ignore the electoral process, am I likely to encounter such heavy handed tactics?

Oh, PS: I'm /SO. VERY. SORRY./ (not) if my stance offends you. No need to respond in that case - I shan't listen to your argument. I merely seek advice on the continuance of my own (lack of) political agenda.
Voting is not obligatory
Registering is
This is so that Govts can make informed decisions about the adult population in any area.
Since the abolition of the census it will be more important that such info is accurate.
Your infantile response is risible.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by balotelli12
Cretin.
Voting is not obligatory
Registering is
This is so that Govts can make informed decisions about the adult population in any area.
Since the abolition of the census it will be more important that such info is accurate.
Your infantile response is risible.


Er since when did they abolish the census?
UP UKIP!!
Reply 17
Joining the thread with a similiar question - I got a letter some time ago saying that I should register for voting by 14th of November, if not, I could be fined 1000 pounds. I've literally just read it now (when I got it I threw it on the "read when I have time pile", which turned out to be today) and I'm kinda confused, because I'm not a British citizen - I'm an European citizen, meaning I think I'm eligible to register - and I don't know if I should expect like people in suits coming to my house and demanding a grand. Is it compulsory for me as well if I'm not a British citizen? Am I actually gonna be fined or am I gonna get like some other letter telling me to register again (and how many letters are they prepared to send given that I'm leaving for Christmas soon and will probably get it around January)?
balotelli12 -
Read it again!

It is a completely reasonable move by the government to prevent electoral fraud. You have clearly been registered on the electoral roll in two places, home and university.

According to Yougov you cannot opt out if requested to fill in the form. However it does not say you will be fined, only that you may be fined.

Your desire to opt out of civic responsibility is infantile.

If you really think this has anything to do with electoral fraud - I must ask do you still believe in Santa Claus ?

Many ( if not most ) students legally qualify to register multiple times.

If enough people opt out of the system then just maybe the system will have to change. It is not possible to change the system by adhering to it.

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