Second homes and student homes
You can register to vote at two properties in different electoral areas if you are resident in both properties.
Residence is not defined in electoral law but a person who spends roughly an equal amount of time in two properties may be qualified to register to vote at both.
A person’s residence must have ‘a considerable degree of permanence’.
For instance, someone who has an address in London where they stay during the week, and an address outside of London where they go most weekends, can probably register at both those addresses.
On the other hand, if someone has an address which they visit only occasionally during the year, they would probably not be eligible to register there.
Each individual case is different, please contact us for more guidance.
You do not have to choose which is your main residence for electoral purposes.
Convenience, forwarding or ‘care of’ addresses
We have heard of cases where people have sought to register at, for example, their parental home although they do not live there, because they move address quite frequently. This is the wrong thing to do, you should only register where you actually live.
Students
The courts have decided that students can register at both their home address and their term-time address.
Voting
Although people can register at more than one address, it is illegal to vote more than once at the same election, such as a general election or a UK wide referendum.