Who can vote

Who can vote in Islington

To be able to vote in Islington, you need to be:

• 18 years old or over, but you can register from when you are 16
• live at an address in Islington most of the time
• a British, Irish, Commonwealth or EU citizen.

EU citizens from May 2024

From May 2024, EU citizens will not be able to register, vote or stand as a candidate in local, London Mayoral and London Assembly elections or referendums in England and Northern Ireland, except for:

• Qualifying EU Citizens - these are citizens from countries with 'reciprocal agreements' (helping each other by having similar rules for both sets of citizens) who have ‘leave to remain’ (the right to stay) in the UK or who do not need ‘leave to remain’ in the UK. These are currently Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
• EU Citizens with Retained Rights - These are EU citizens who were living in the UK before 1 January 2021 (the date when the UK left the EU).

EU citizens will continue to be able to vote while they remain on the register, but will not be able to re-register once they are taken off after May 2024.

Students

Students may register at both their home address and their college or university address. It is not an offence to register twice, but it is an offence to vote more than once in the same election.

Special category electors

Special arrangements apply to the following categories.

British citizens living abroad

British citizens living elsewhere can vote at UK parliamentary elections but not local elections.

• You must have been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years to apply to be an overseas voter.
• You must apply to the last council you were registered with before moving abroad.
• If you were too young to register when you left the UK, your parent or guardian must have been registered somewhere.

No year limit from May 2024

• From May 2024, if you have ever lived in or have been registered to vote in the UK, you can apply to be an overseas voter. You must apply to the last council you were registered at before moving abroad.
• You must re-register to vote every three years.
• If you were too young to register when you left the UK, you must apply for the council your parent or guardian was registered at.

Service personnel and their spouse

Service personnel and marriage partners have the choice of registering each year as an ordinary voter or by way of a service declaration. Service declarations last for three years.

Crown servants or British Council employees working outside the UK can still register to vote. The spouse of a crown servant or British Council employee accompanying them during their employment abroad can also register under these arrangements.

Homeless people

If you are homeless, you may register at the address or place you spend a most or a lot of your time either during the day or at night. You can use this form to register to vote if you have no fixed address.

Remand prisoners

Remand prisoners may register at the institution where they are currently living or at the address you would have been resident or have previously lived. You can use this form to register to vote if you are not at a permanent address.

Mental health patients

Whether voluntary or detained (but not those detained for criminal activity), you may register at the institution where you are currently living or at the address you would have been resident or have previously lived. Use this form to register at the institution or your previous address.