Joshua Parfitt
BRITISH citizens residing outside the UK can vote in the upcoming general election scheduled for December 12.
However, there is one caveat: you must have been registered to vote in the UK within the previous 15 years.
If you were too young to register when you left the UK, you can still register as an overseas voter so long as your parent or guardian was registered and you left the UK no more than 15 years ago.
You can register yourself via this link.
(Bear in mind an overseas registration expires after 12 months; if you previously registered prior to December 12, 2018, you will need to re-register.)
How to vote
If you’re eligible, you can vote by post or proxy.
Voting by proxy means you appoint someone to vote on your behalf.
You’ll need to fill out paper form to apply for a proxy vote for your relevant constituency and apply by 5pm, December 5.
Equally, you can fill out the paper form to apply for a postal vote.
If you want to vote by post, apply by 5pm on 26 November to get your postal voting pack at your overseas address. Your postal vote must then arrive at your Electoral Office in the UK by 10pm on 12 December.
(If you are registered to vote in Northern Ireland, you can apply to vote by proxy using this paper form by 5pm on 21 November. You cannot vote by post.)
That is the theory. In reality, my Scottish partner, who registered for postal vote months ago, will not be able to vote as he still has not received his ballot card. And it was the same in the last European election. They just do not send them out in time (in spite of Xmas time, we receive mail from the UK usually within 2 – 4 days). One wonders if this is deliberate to prevent Europe-friendly expats from voting against Brexit, because he is not the only one, we hear it from friends all over.