Am I registered to vote in the General Election? How to find out if you can have your say

How to find out whether your name is on the electoral register

A polling station in South Shields (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

The deadline to register to vote for the 2015 General Election has passed – and nearly half a million people put their names on the electoral register on Monday.

If you think you were one of those people, but you’re not sure if you made it in time, or if you’re confused as to whether you’re registered at all, here’s what you need to know.

The easiest way to check is to get in touch with your local electoral registration office – they can tell you whether you’re on the list to vote.

And you can get their contact details by visiting aboutmyvote.co.uk, and entering your postcode in the pink box at the top-right of the page – make sure you contact them directly, and not the Electoral Commission, as only your local office can give you that information.

If you already have a polling card – which tells you your constituency, your local polling station, its opening times and so on – then you are good to vote.

However, you don’t actually need to take your polling card with you to vote if you are on the electoral register.

And it’s worth remembering that if you were one of the ones who registered on Monday, it will take a little while for you polling card to be sent to your address.

If you haven’t registered in time for this election, you can still make sure you get in early for any future votes by registering now – here’s our step-by-step guide for how to do so.