The cost of voting

What are the financial implications of registering to vote?

If you want to be eligible to vote in the general election taking place on the 6th May, then April 20th is the last day you can register to vote.

The political implications of having your name on the electoral roll are clear. It may feel like it makes no difference who you vote for, but at least you are eligible to express your opinion.

But what about the financial implications of being on the electoral roll? Can it make a difference to the amount of money in your pocket?

The financial advantages

Financial companies and public bodies need to establish that you are who you say you are, in order to assess your creditworthiness. So they use the electoral roll to confirm your name and address, whenever they perform a credit check on you.

If you are not on the electoral roll, this means you may find it more difficult to:

1.  Get credit

2.  Take out insurance

3.  Access legal and accountancy services

4.  Open savings accounts or other investments

5.  Shop over the internet or phone

6.  Obtain some public services, like getting a passport

7.  Get a job in the financial services sector

You may think this is unfair. After all, just because you're not on the electoral roll doesn't mean you are more likely to renege on your debts.

But in today's economic climate, banks aren't taking any risks.

So what would happen if you applied for a mortgage, credit card, loan or other form of credit and you weren't on the electoral roll?

To some extent, it will depend on your individual circumstances - but there is certainly a higher chance you will get turned down and fail to qualify as a ‘prime' borrower.  

And right now, falling into the ‘sub-prime' or even ‘near-prime' borrower category means you will pay much higher rates than you would if you were a prime borrower.

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The Financial Disadvantages

OK, so we've established why being on the electoral roll might be a good idea, financially. But is there a downside?

Unfortunately, there is - and very few people are aware of it. By registering to vote, you are also registering for jury service. This means you could be called upon, at any time, to take part in a trial which could last several weeks or more.

And, unless you take the time off as holiday, your employer has no obligation to pay you while you are off work.

The Government will compensate you for your loss of earnings, but only to a set statutory level - it does not simply replace your full salary.

For the first ten days of service, you will receive a maximum of £63.12, tax-free. That's the equivalent of being paid a £21,000 gross annual salary - less than the average annual wage of £24,000.

However, from the 11th day, the maximum allowance doubles to £126.25. This is the equivalent of a salary of almost £45,000 - but you'll only receive the maximum if you can prove you would have earned that much at your normal job.

Jurors losing less than this maximum amount per day will be fully reimbursed, however.

From the 201st day - yes, some trials really do last more than seven months! - the maximum allowance is increased to £221.63, equivalent to a gross salary of around £87,000.

But by that time, if you earn that sort of salary, you may feel no amount of money in the world will compensate you for the time you've taken away from your career.

You'll also get a subsistence allowance, currently payable at £5.55 a day if you have to attend court for up to 10 hours, and £11.83 for more then 10 hours.

Now, here at lovemoney.com, we certainly don't want to discourage you from doing your civic duty. But we do want to make sure you have made an informed decision, if it affects your finances.

And I'm concerned that the initial maximum allowance of £63.12 is set far too low, and will therefore eat into most people's incomes.

The allowance system also forces self-employed jurors to prove their income in order to get any compensation - something which many may struggle to do, unless they can afford to engage an accountant.

For this reason, if you're self-employed or earn over £20,000, you need to weigh up the potential costs of being on the electoral roll against the potential benefits of getting lower rates on credit, shopping over the internet etc.

Personally, I think the benefits still outweigh the costs, especially as you may never be asked to go on jury service - but it's something to be aware of, anyway.

How To Register

If you do want to register, you can download a form from the About My Vote website. To be eligible to vote in the 6th May elections, you need to make sure the form arrives at your council by 20th April, so you need to get a move on.

If you miss this deadline, it's not the end of the world as you will still be added to the roll next month. You just won't be able to vote until after the election.

Be careful which roll you register for, though. Look for a box on your registration form that you can tick to ensure you only appear on the Full Register.

The council can sell the Edited Register to anyone they like, including junk mail companies.

And annoyingly, you're automatically put on this register unless you specifically opt out.

Finally, if you do decide to register, use your vote wisely. Don't vote for any blathering idiots, smooth-talking sleazeballs or corrupt cretins who promise you the earth and then fail to deliver.

Or at least, try not to.

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