The Island has officially received the ‘writ from the clerk to the crown’ for the general election.
This official part of the process for a general election was overseen by Geoff Underwood, High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight and returning officer for parliamentary elections, and Claire Shand, acting returning officer.
The writ is issued by the Lord Chancellor and commands that an election be held for a member of Parliament for the Isle of Wight Constituency.
Hand delivered by Royal Mail managers
Once Parliament is dissolved, writs are hand delivered by Royal Mail managers to every constituency in the UK. Receipt of the writ on the Island was taken at 12.30pm on Thursday 7th November.
Once the count is complete following the general election on 12th December, to formalise the result, the returning officer must write the name of the winning candidate on the writ and return it to the clerk to the crown, who is based in the Houses of Parliament.
The day-to-day arrangements for the election on the Island are discharged by the acting returning officer.
Dont leave it too late
If you wish to vote in the general election, you will need to make sure you are registered before the deadline of Tuesday 26th November 2019. If you have already registered to vote for a previous election, you will already be on the electoral register and will not need to register again.
The simplest and easiest way to check if you are registered register is online and filling out the form, which takes around five minutes.
You will need your date of birth and national insurance number when completing this process to register.
Further information can be found on the council’s Website.
News shared by Isle of Wight council, in their own words. Ed
