Electoral registration privacy notice

Who is the data controller for the information we collect

This privacy notice is provided to meet the requirements of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) to explain how we process your personal data in delivering Electoral Services.

The Electoral Registration Officer/Returning Officer is the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and other regulations including the UK General Data Protection Regulation, which means it determines what your data is used for and why it is collected. The purpose of this privacy notice is to tell you about what information we collect about you when you use our service, how we use that information and who we may share it with. The contact details of the data controller are Civic Hall, Calverley Street Leeds LS1 1UR.

The data we will collect

This notice covers the data we collect in respect of the candidate/agents and the voter ID/postal/proxy systems. This includes records of potential and actual electors, voters, citizens, candidates and their agents and staff currently and previously employed by the Electoral Registration Officer/Returning Officer. These may be paper records or stored electronically.

These records may include the following personal data

  • name
  • address (current, previous, or redirected)
  • date of birth
  • nationality
  • email (optional)
  • telephone number (optional)
  • contact details (telephone numbers and email addresses)
  • unique identifiers (such as National Insurance numbers)
  • signatures
  • proof of identity / address
  • copies of your correspondence sent to us
  • whether you have opted out of appearing on the open version of the register
  • electoral duties, including job history and performance
  • party affiliation details (candidates)
  • spending details (candidates)

Special category data

  • personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin.
  • health information 

How do we collect information about you

We collect information about you from you directly (for example by asking you to complete one of our forms, via the telephone through our contact centre or face-to-face).

We may also obtain your information from other sources such as:

  • your family members, carers or other persons acting on your behalf
  • internal council departments
  • other public authorities, such as Department for Work and Pension

Why we process your data

We use your information

  • to allow you to vote in elections and
  • to maintain an accurate and complete Register of Electors

All the data collected will be treated in strict confidence and in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The data provided by you will only be used for the purpose(s) specified.

Lawful basis for processing

We will process your data in accordance with UK GDPR Article 6(1)(c) which allows us to process your data for compliance with a legal obligation to enable us to process your data to provide an electoral service under the following legislation:

  • Representation of the People Act 1983
  • Representation of the People Act 1985
  • Representation of the People Act 2000
  • Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001
  • Electoral Administration Act 2006
  • Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) Rules 2006
  • Local Elections (Parish and Communities) (England and Wales) Rules 2006
  • Representation of the People (Annual Canvass) (Amendment) Regulations 2019
  • Elections Act 2022

We will process your special category data in accordance with UK GDPR Article 9(2)g) – processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest. These are supported by the following conditions in Schedule 1 Part 2 of the DPA 2018 and the legal framework described above. 

Schedule 1 Part 2 conditions:

6. Statutory and government purposes
12. Regulatory requirements

These schedule 1 conditions require an Appropriate Policy Document to be in place, which sets out and explains the procedures for securing compliance with the principles in Article 5 and policies regarding the retention and erasure of such personal data. Our data protection act provides further information about this processing.

Data retention, storage and destruction

Our data retention policies and procedures are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention. This means that your information will be kept in accordance with statutory requirements which is documented in our Retention schedule. For further information about specific retention dates please contact us.

Who can we share your data with

Using data received from the public, registration officers keep two registers – the electoral (full) register and the open register (also known as the edited register).

The electoral register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in public elections. The register is used for electoral purposes, such as making sure that only eligible people can vote. It is also used for other limited purposes specified in law, such as

  • detecting crime (such as fraud)
  • calling people for jury service
  • checking credit applications

The electoral register is published once a year (usually on 1 December) and is updated regularly throughout the year. The current version of the electoral (full) register can only be supplied to a specific set of people and organisations, who are entitled to obtain the register from us.

The use of the electoral (full) register is set out in legislation, and it is an offence for it to be used for any purpose other than that for which it was supplied. It is a crime for anyone who has a copy of the full register to pass data from this register on to others, if they do not have a lawful reason to see it.

A full list of people who can access the register and the ways in which they can use your data can be found on The Electoral Commission website.

Anyone can inspect the full register.

  • inspection will be made under supervision
  • they can take extracts from the register, but only as handwritten notes
  • data must not be used for direct marketing purposes unless it has been published in the open register
  • anyone who fails to observe these conditions is committing a criminal offence

The open register is an extract of the electoral (full) register, but it is not used for elections. It can be bought by any person, company, or organisation. For example, it is used by businesses and charities to confirm name and address details.

Your name and address will be included in the open register unless you ask for them to be removed. Removing your details from the open register does not affect your right to vote. If you want to remove your name and address from the open register please visit the electoral and open register.

We will also have to disclose (share) your data with our software providers and contracted printers. They will only use it under our instruction, and for the purpose of allowing us to discharge our statutory duties. They won’t use it for any other reasons and will securely dispose of the data once they no longer require it.

To verify your identity, the data you provide will be processed by the Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service managed by the Cabinet Office.

As part of this process your data will be shared with the Department of Work and Pensions and the Cabinet Office suppliers that are data processors for the Individual Electoral Registration (IER) - GOV.UK Service.

Any contact details you provide us with during any interaction with us will be securely stored and will not be passed on to anyone else. We will only use it to contact you regarding your entry on the Electoral Register.

In addition, we will share your personal data:

  • where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject
  • in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person
  • for the purposes of security and prevention of fraud and other criminal activity
  • where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure

Automated decision making

Your data will not be used for any automated decision making, including profiling.

Your rights

The following rights under data protection law are available under the UK GDPR:

  • the right to access – you can ask for copies of your personal data
  • the right to rectification – you can ask us to rectify inaccurate personal data and to complete incomplete personal data the
  • the right to erasure - where you can ask us to erase your personal data
  • the right to restrict processing – you can ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data
  • the right to data portability (where you can ask that we transfer your personal data to another organisation or to you
  • the right to object to processing (where you can object to the processing of your personal data) and
  • the right to complain to a supervisory authority – you can complain about our processing of your personal data the right to
  • withdraw consent (to the extent that the legal basis of our processing of your personal data is consent, you can withdraw that consent

Where we process your information under legal obligation certain rights to do not apply, such as erasure, data portability, objection to processing and the right to withdraw consent.

Where we process your data under the public task basis, certain rights to do not apply, such as erasure, data portability and the right to withdraw consent.

These rights are subject to certain limitations and exceptions. You can learn more about your rights through ‘Your individual rights and how to exercise them’ and the Information Commissioner’s Office website.

You may exercise any of the above rights in relation to your personal data by writing to us, using the contact details provided below.

When your data gets sent to other countries

The information you provide will not be transferred to another country outside of the UK.

Contact us

Any queries in relation to this privacy notice should be forwarded to:

email: electors@leeds.gov.uk

Data Protection Officer

Aaron Linden
Head of Information Management and Governance - Data Protection Officer
Leeds City Council
Merrion House
110 Merrion Way
Leeds
LS2 8BB
 

DPO@leeds.gov.uk

The council privacy notice is available to view privacy notice.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way in which your information has been handled you should speak with the specific service in the first instance.

Any data protection complaints about how the council has processed your personal data, will be handled in accordance with the council’s Complaints Policy. You can find out how to submit a complaint by visiting this link complaints, compliments and feedback - let us know.

If we cannot resolve your complaint, you can refer to the Information Commissioner if you consider that there has been an infringement of data protection legislation. Further details can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website.

Changes to this notice

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. We will notify you of significant changes to this notice by email or other means as appropriate. This privacy notice was last updated November 2024.