Urgent: 3 weeks to get voters registered

Blog by Nouf Abdulqadar, Waltham Forest Citizens

With just 5 weeks until the General Election, around 9 million people are still missing from the electoral roll – that's a shocking one in five UK voters. [1]

I'm a 19 year old Muslim woman and this election will be my first. As a member of TELCO (East London) Citizens, our alliance will engage local parliamentary candidates on the issues affecting our communities - like knife crime and the housing crisis.

But, let's face it... politicians are more likely to act on our priorities if they know that their constituents will head to the polls in high numbers.

If we want our democracy to work as it should, it's crucial that we get as many people as possible onto the electoral roll . And we only have 3 weeks to make it happen! [2]

Members of Tyne and Wear Citizens encourage people in their networks to register to vote.

Community leaders across Citizens UK are getting people in universities, places of worship and community centres registered to vote .

With a Brexit decision looming and many pressures on our communities, it has never been more important for voters young and old, to have a say in the direction of our country. By acting now, we can avoid millions of people being disenfranchised.

Studies show that people are more likely to register when they are encouraged to do so by someone they know, trust or can relate to . That's why registration stalls on campuses, at places of worship or community centres are so effective.

Crucially, these are the very same places where we can best engage with people who are more likely to be left off the electoral roll - like young people, private renters and people of migrant backgrounds.

With less than three weeks to go until the registration deadline, could you help us raise the £2,000 we need to get voter registration stalls in the towns and cities that need them most?

Every £50 raised will help us send a pack of posters and flyers out and ensure a deeply rooted local organisation can get hundreds of people registered to vote. Please chip in whatever you can afford - every £ adds up!

If you are from a Citizens member organisation: could you and other leaders in your Citizens alliance run a voter registration stall? Here's what you would need:

• A laptop so that you can get people registered online on the spot - it only takes 5 minutes!

Flyers and posters - which as a Citizens UK member you can get for free! Get in touch with your local Community Organiser to request a resources pack, or sign up here .

NOTES:

[1] The missing millions: Young people and private renters left off electoral register ahead of snap election

[2] Electoral Commission: How to register to vote.