RESIDENTS of Whitehill and Bordon have been singled out for their low rate of being registered to vote.

Only four-fifths of one ward in Whitehill completed registration forms last year and now a campaign is on to improve that rate.

At this time of the year, forms are delivered to every household in the country asking people to check who is eligible to participate in national and local elections.

Parts of Whitehill and Bordon, Steep and Liphook have been identified as the areas of East Hampshire where residents are least likely to confirm their voter registration details.

The Household Enquiry Form is delivered annually to 52,000 households around the district, with the majority hand-delivered by the council’s team of 68 canvassers.

The form allows East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) to keep the electoral register up to date.

But residents failing to confirm or correct their details could be removed from the electoral register, preventing them from voting in future elections.

EHDC’s elections team has revealed which areas saw the lowest response to Household Enquiry Forms last year.

Residents in Whitehill Pinewood ward were the least likely to return their forms, with 81 per cent doing so. After that was Steep (84.2 per cent) and Liphook (84.6 per cent).

The best respondents in the district were the residents of Alton Amery, with 99 per cent keeping their electoral details up to date.

East Hampshire’s overall return rate in 2016 was 92.75 per cent.

East Hampshire District Council’s chief executive Sandy Hopkins said: “We are pleased to have a great team of canvassers who will be out and about delivering Household Enquiry Forms to thousands of homes across the district over the next few weeks.

“Completing these forms is a very straightforward process, whether you are confirming your details or adding a new person to the electoral register.

“Ignoring the form runs the risk of being removed from the electoral register and that would mean you cannot vote in future elections and may harm your ability to get credit.

“If you’re not currently registered, your name will not appear on the second page of the form.

“The quickest way to individually register is online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

“Alternatively we can send you information explaining how to do this in the post.

“In any case, you will still need to complete the form and send it back to us.”