Tonight is the deadline to register to vote in the UK General Election — here’s how to do it

Here we go!Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

LONDON — Have you registered to vote yet?

If not, then there’s no time to waste — the deadline to register to vote in the General Election on June 8 is tonight at 11.59PM.

It’s a hugely important election, and comes at a crucial time for the country. Britain is gearing up to leave the European Union, and May argues that the vote is needed to unify the country and secure the support required for her to carry out her vision for Brexit. Meanwhile, the Labour Party is closing the gap with the Conservatives in the final weeks of the campaign, while the Lib Dems are hoping to stage a comeback with an unambiguous opposition to Brexit.

So if you want a say in the future of Britain, it’s vitally important you register to vote.

How do you register?

It’s dead simple to do online. Head on over to the UK government’s “Register to vote” website, where it takes you through all the steps in a straight-forward fashion. (To be eligible to vote, you need to be a British citizen over 18 years old.)

It’ll ask you for your full legal name, your address (and details of recent previous addresses), date of birth, National Insurance number (e.g. QQ123456C; you can find it on payslips or tax/benefits/pensions letters), and nationality. If you’re living abroad, you’ll also need your passport number.

Prime Minister Theresa May, announcing the snap referendum.BBC

It will also ask for contact details, whether you want a postal vote or to vote in person, and whether you want your details included on the open register — an extract of the electoral register that companies and organisations can pay for access to.

Once you’ve entered all that, you can submit it online, and you’re done! (You can also register to vote by post, using forms that you can download here, but it’s a little late for that now.)

You don’t need to re-register if you’re already registered. But if you’re not, make sure you do it now, because it really is your last chance.

The deadline is Monday, May 22, at 11.59PM — tonight!

In 2016’s referendum on leaving the EU, the deadline was extended for two days That deadline was extended by two because the weight of people trying to register at the last minute crashed the government’s website. But there’s no indication that will happen this time around, so hurry up and register to vote.

Once again, click here to register to vote online »