Forms will be landing on doormats of nearly 45,000 homes across Stafford Borough this week as part of the annual canvass.

Residents are required by law to register and make sure their details are correct on the electoral roll and each year the council carries out the canvass to ensure the data is up to date.

You must be on the register to vote in local and national polls - but not being registered also affects a person’s credit rating which can lead to issues when buying a house or taking out a phone contract, for example.

Already more than 18,000 properties have responded from emails sent out by Stafford Borough Council in the last couple of weeks - saving thousands of pounds on posting out forms. Reminder emails are being sent to those that haven’t yet responded online. The electronic canvassing system was introduced in 2020, after a change in national legislation, and has helped reduce the amount of paper used as well as saving money.

Now forms will be distributed to households who have not provided electronic details to the council from this week (Monday 7 August).

The canvass will also help identify any residents who are not registered so that they can be encouraged to do so. Anyone needing to change details can do it online or contact the borough council.

You can contact the election’s team at elections@staffordbc.gov.uk or 01785 619424 if you have any queries. People who are not registered can do so at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.