Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

The way you register to vote is going to change.

The move to Individual Electoral Registration is well underway, and will be in place by the end of 2014.

The Electoral Registration and Administration Bill working its way through parliament will introduce a major change to our system of electoral registration – Individual Electoral Registration (IER), which will require electors to register individually rather than through heads of household.

The government responded to preliminary consultation by removing the ‘opt-out’ option from its original proposals, and there will be a civil penalty for individuals who fail to register following a system of reminders. It has also made some concessions on the timetable, although the aim is still to have IER in place for the general election in 2015.