Who can vote

Who can vote in Islington

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

• have registered to vote
• be 18 years old or over
• live at an address in Islington most of the time.

Who can register to vote

You can register to vote only if you:

• are 16 years old or over
• are a British or Irish citizen
• have permission - or do not need permission - to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man and you're a
  • Commonwealth citizen
  • a qualifying EU citizen or EU citizen with Retained Rights.

Voting as an EU citizen

From May 2024, the only EU citizens that can register to vote in the UK are:

• 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 countries are:
  • Denmark
  • Luxembourg
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • 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).

Qualifying EU citizens and EU citizens with Retained Rights can vote or stand as a candidate only in the following elections or referendums:

• local elections
• London Mayoral and London Assembly elections
• referendums in England and Northern Ireland.

For more information on voting as an EU citizen, visit the Electoral Commission page.

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. 

• 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.

If you have no fixed address

You can register to vote if you are:

• homeless
• a remand prisoner
• a mental health patient who is voluntary or detained (but not for criminal activity).

You may register at the address or place you spend a most or a lot of your time during the day or not, the address you were resident or previously lived at, or at the institution you live in now.

Use this form to register to vote if you have no fixed address.