Electoral Registration Officer Data Protection and Privacy Notice

Some information is considered to be ‘Special Category’ information and needs more protection because of its sensitivity.  This includes information relating to:-

• Racial or ethnic origin
• Political opinions
• Religious or philosophical beliefs
• Trade union membership
• Genetic data
• Biometric data
• Health
• Sex life or sexual orientation

In accordance with Article 6 of the GDPR, the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest and exercise of official authority vested in the ERO as set out in the Representation of the People Act 1983 and associated regulations.

The ERO also processes Nationality information which is ‘Special Category Data’.  This information is processed in order to determine whether someone is eligible to register to vote and, if so, which elections they may be entitled to vote at. 

Additionally, the ERO may also deal with special categories of personal data through: documents received as part of the documentary exceptions process in connection with applications to register and documents received as part of an application for anonymous registration.

In accordance with Article 9, of the GDPR, the processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, with a basis in UK law (Regulation 26 of the Representation of the People Act 2001).

• The individual themselves (Data Subject) 
• Other residents in the Tendring electoral area
• Registered electors and their appointed proxies
• Tendring District Council (including from Council Tax and Benefits data, Housing Service data and Off-street Parking Permit data, Complaints (under stage 2 of its complaints procedure) and local Beach Hut Licensee data – to match with existing elector data and identify un-registered individuals to invite to register)
• Essex County Council (including Education Service data on 16 and 17 year olds and those in receipt of Adult Social Care – to match with existing elector data and identify un-registered individuals to invite to register)
• Other Electoral Registration Officers
• Cabinet Office’s IER Digital Service/ Department for Work and Pensions (including data on those applying to register) / Department for Work and Pensions (including to match with existing elector data)
• Electoral Registration Canvassers
• Private Carehomes/Landlords

• Email Address
• Telephone Number(s)
• Whether information  is required in alternative formats (for example, Braille card)

Cabinet Office Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service (IERDS) -

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 Digital Service. You can find more information about this here https://www.registertovote.service.gov.uk/register-to-vote/privacy

• Electoral Registration Staff and Canvassers

As prescribed by law:

• Registered political parties
• Elected representatives for the Tendring electoral area
• Candidates and Agents for the Tendring electoral area
• Local Constituency parties
• Tendring District Council
• Returning Officer  (RO) for the Tendring electoral area
• Acting Returning Officer (ARO) for Harwich & North Essex Parliamentary Constituency
• Police Area Returning Officer (PARO) for the Eastern Region
• Other Electoral Registration Officers
• Credit Reference Agencies
• The Electoral Commission
• The British Library 
• The Jury Central Summoning Bureau
• Third Parties registered with the Electoral Commission
• Cabinet Office (National Fraud Initiative)
• Department of Work and Pensions
• Home Office
• Police
• Any individual appointed as your proxy/postal proxy
• Other residents at your registered address
• Anyone assisting you in submitting or completing an application to register to vote or for a postal or proxy vote
• Designated government contacts for EU Member States (European Parliamentary Elections only)
• For those applying to the Electoral Registration Officer for a Voter Authority Certificate (where the elector does not have another form of acceptable photographic identification that they can take to their polling station to vote), there will be sharing of limited personal data (name, address, data of birth, facial image and (where appropriate) National Insurance number) with the Government's Digital Service/Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (and the Department for Work and Pensions) for the purposes of identity verification and production of the Certificate.

The following data processors may also be supplied with personal data within the terms of the agreements for the processing of that data:

• Electoral Management Software Supplier
• Contracted Electoral Print Suppliers

In making this statement about data sharing, it is important to note that in certain very limited circumstances sharing might be lawfully permitted.  For example, in response to public health challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Electoral Registration Officer responded to individual requests from Tendring District Council for contact telephone details of the most vulnerable individuals in the District of Tendring where the NHS data it received included erroneous contact details.  The number of requests received by the Electoral Registration Officer where contact details were held involved less than 50 data subjects.  The purpose of the data sharing was to enable the Council to contact those most vulnerable and at risk from the virus within the community and ensure that they were supported to protect themselves from the virus and, as part of this, that appropriate food and medicine delivery arrangements were in place.  The conditions of the data sharing agreement were that the shared data was not to be kept for use beyond the stated purpose or shared further for any other purpose.  Please see the COVID-19 Privacy statement for Tendring District Council for more information https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/coronavirus

We’ll do what we can to make sure we process records about you (on paper and electronically) in a secure way, and we’ll only make them available to those who have a right to see them. Examples of our security include:

• Encryption, meaning that information is hidden so that it cannot be read without special knowledge (such as a password).  This is done with a secret code or what’s called a ‘cypher’. The hidden information is said to then be ‘encrypted’.
• Controlling access to systems and networks means we can prevent people who are not allowed to view your personal information accessing it.
• Protecting your data through the effective use of relevant IT Security controls.  We have a range of IT Security measures in place to help protect your data from viruses, malware, ransomware, intrusion, loss, theft and other related risks.
• Conducting privacy impact assessments (PIA) to ensure end-to-end protection when necessary.
• Training our staff enables us to make them aware of how to correctly handle information and how and when to report if something goes wrong.
• Regular testing of our technology and ways of working to ensure they remain suitable; including keeping up to date with the latest security updates (commonly called patches).
• Use of secure file transfer protocols

All requests for access to personal information must be made by the person to whom the information relates or their authorised representative.  This is known as a Subject Access Request. Requests must include sufficient information to clearly identify you so that we don’t provide your information to someone attempting to impersonate you.  For example, your full name, address, other contact details we may record, a copy of your driving license, a utility bill, etc.  In this way we can ensure your privacy rights continue to be protected.

If you wish to authorise someone to act on your behalf – this could be another individual or an organisation, such as your legal representative or Citizens Advice, it is important that you make your wishes clear and provide a form of authority to them so that we know they are acting under your instruction.

Please send your requests to:

The Data Protection Officer
Electoral Registration Officer - Tendring District Council
Town Hall
Station Road
Clacton on Sea
Essex CO15 1SE

ERO-DPOfficer@tendringdc.gov.uk

If you need to request a restriction in the use of your information, please provide as much information as possible so that we can consider your request.

If you wish to appoint someone to act on your behalf – this could be another individual or an organisation, such as your legal representative or Citizens Advice, it is important that you make your wishes clear and provide a form of authority to them so that we know they are acting under your instruction.

Please send your requests to:

The Electoral Registration Officer
Tendring District Council
Town Hall
Station Road
Clacton on Sea
Essex CO15 1SE
elections@tendringdc.gov.uk
01255 686566

There are no provisions for you to request that your information be deleted from the electoral register unless you are no longer eligible to vote.

If you believe this to be the case, please contact :-

The Electoral Registration Officer
Tendring District Council
Town Hall
Station Road
Clacton on Sea
Essex CO15 1SE
elections@tendringdc.gov.uk
01255 686566