Students reminded to register to vote for Greater Manchester’s Mayoral Election
- Students warned ‘Don’t myth out’ on Mayor vote because of misunderstanding
- Students are able to vote for in the Greater Manchester Mayoral election even if their non-term address is outside of Greater Manchester borough
Manchester's students are being encouraged to register to vote in elections to democratically elect Greater Manchester's first ever Mayor.
The historic vote to choose who will become Mayor, created as part of the region's pioneering devolution deal, will take place on Thursday 4 May.
The Electoral Commission has identified students as one of the groups who are underrepresented nationally on electoral registers.
In some cases, this can be because students think they are not allowed to register in both their term time addresses and home addresses. But in fact, they are allowed, and indeed recommended, to register at both, as long as they are not both within the same local authority (council) area.
For local elections, it is even legal to vote in both areas where you are registered.
But in the case of the Greater Manchester Mayoral elections, they would legally only be allowed to vote once even if they were registered in more than one of the 10 Greater Manchester districts (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan) because it is a single election.
Eamonn Boylan, combined authority returning officer for Greater Manchester, said: “We don’t want anyone to miss out on their right to vote.
There is a common misconception that students aren’t allowed to be on the electoral register in more than one place but this simply isn’t true.
“Any Greater Manchester-based student who is already on the electoral register here need take no further action to ensure they can have their say.
But if they’re not registered, and want to have a say in who becomes Mayor, they are encouraged to register as soon as possible.”
Registration is a quick and easy process. You can visit www.gov.uk/register-to-
For more information about the Mayor's role and powers, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the mayoral elections visit www.gmelects.org.uk