Genealogy Chat

The earlier London registers on Ancestry have been very useful to me. But what real purpose is served by Brightsolid putting these latest registers online?

The UK electoral registration opt out is widely misunderstood.

It does not mean that access to the registration is restricted to voting purposes and the local council. Any firm with a license can access this data including the reselling of services which use the ER data. For instance the major credit referencing firms all sell products which disclose ER details. Access control to this data is very weak.

SylvieInCanada may be interested to know that in the UK EU citizens also have to register if staying in the country. They can vote in all elections except parliamentary and referendums. Citizens of Eire have the same voting rights as UK nationals ( and vice versa).

For EU elections it has been decided that Gibraltar is part of Devon.

Many people who only want to view Electoral registers will buy credits
Genes £5
FMP £6.95
192 £9.95

Inky do watch out when filling out your form

They phrase the 'opt out' question in such a way that you are not sure if you have opted out. Very canny as this confuses folk, they do not opt out and then they can sell a larger list.

Jan ...............


I have said several times over the last 3 or so years that I thought that was a possible ulterior motive behind the original acquisition, and the subsequent failure to seemingly ensure that GR continued as the very active site it was.

I have even postulated that theory to GR staff.

............ so they do know my concern for GR


No matter what was promised to the Competition Board, what they ruled can always be over-turned later.

Interesting ..................


we have been responsible for ensuring that we are individually registered to vote for at least the last 30 years!

We no longer have annual registration or updates ...............................

I CAN ensure that every one over 18 in my household is registered, but it is by no means MY responsibility to do so.


For those interested ................

The National Register of Electors is the permanent database of Canadians qualified to vote in federal elections. Elections Canada continually updates the Register using information provided by government agencies from income tax forms, citizenship applications, driver's licence records, provincial permanent voters lists, as well as other information sources. The information in the Register is then used to create voters lists.

Elections Canada shares voter registration information from the National Register of Electors – name, address, date of birth, gender and unique identifier number – with most provincial and territorial elections agencies and with some municipalities, upon request and where data sharing agreements exist.

They also provide voters lists (containing name, address and unique identifier number) to political candidates, Members of Parliament and registered political parties, who may use the information for specific, authorized purposes.



Our registration to vote cannot be used for anything else except Federal, Provincial and Municipal Election information and voting.

The only time we get reminders to ensure we are on the Electoral Register is about 6 months prior to a Federal or Provincial election .................... which causes panic if a snap election is called.

In fact....................why dont they just make it all one site now and be done with it ?

Jan

I couldn't see that it was any better either...infact FMP list in alphabetical order by place name and GR have them listed willy nilly...so in my opinion it is easier on FMP if the name is common

Just checked to see what was so great about the Genes search compared to Find my Past and I can't see any difference at all?

they are all searchable by name, county and town, or am I missing something?

This change will keep the postperson busy - for one day a year at least.
If the homes around me are indicative of the country as a whole, the average number of voting age folk is over 2. So the mailshots will more than double.

My mistake, I misread

J

I hadn't heard of IER. For anyone else in the same position, this is quite good.


Background to the introduction of IER
In June 2011 the Government announced plans for a fundamental change to the way we register to vote, by introducing Individual Electoral Registration (IER).

What is IER?
At present, one person in every household is responsible for registering everyone else who lives at that address. The Government is proposing that, from summer 2014, each person will be required to register to vote individually, rather than by household.

Under the proposed new system, individuals would be asked to provide 'identifying information', such as a date of birth and national insurance number, when they apply to register. This would allow each person's application to be verified before they were added to the register. People who were unable to supply this information would be able to provide an alternative form of evidence of their identity.

People who fail to register under the new system in 2014 would have their registration carried forward to 2015 - ensuring that they would be registered to vote at the 2015 UK general election. However, postal or proxy voters would need to register under the new system from 2014 or they would automatically lose the right to use this method of voting. Anyone who has moved house or changed their name would also be required to register under the new system.

People who have not moved house or do not require a postal or proxy vote would have until the end of the autumn 2015 annual canvass to register under the new system. Those who have not registered individually and had their identity verified by then would be removed from the register.

Household Electoral Registration is coming to an end. It will be replaced with Individual Electoral Registration. About 50 districts will be running a pilot autumn 2013 with a full roll out in 2014.

IER will require some sort of proof of eligibility. Forms will be addressed to individuals, not heads of household. The individual will be responsible for his/her return. Registration remains compulsory along with liability for jury service.

No final decision has been made concerning the privacy opt out but the legislation does allows for its removal by S.I.. In any case the number of organisations with access to the full ER has been significantly extended.

Many people are not aware that whatever their privacy status on the ER the Land Registry has no such restriction except for a small fee of £ 4.

Thanks.... just wondered

Jax - No only Platinum :-)

Janet I know they have been on FMP for sometime...I posted a thread about it when I found out some months ago.

This is new to GR....I only have a standard sub, so it would cost me 10 credits.

Obviously it is included with the platinum....but is it included with the Gold membership??

Interesting - came online this morning for Platinum members - GR certainly easier to search than FMP though they are obviously the same records.

Edit: Have been looking up addresses for family and friends. Very useful for finding lost people.

Jax,

Opt out. You are most likely correct. It is something that I would have done if it was offered - but I don't remember.
Each time I get the letter from the Council I go online, enter my code, look at the names then click 'no change'. Next time I will read through the whole thing.

EDIT
After submitting the above I decided to check two more nearby friends/families. One shows for 2002-2004 and the other 2002-2006. So all must have opted out at different times. (What a pity the telephone preference service does not work that well.....)

They have been on FMP for some time now and on my subs I have always been able to view , not use credits.

I received an email last week telling me that I would now be able to view as part of my subs..................but I always could................

Odd

jan

FMP is the same RR...you only see the middle initial when you click to view