Electoral roll
The Electoral Roll and Data Protection: Guidance (Updated November 2020)
The constitutional rules relating to the Electoral Roll (“the Roll”) were revised and simplified by Governing Body in November 2020. The requirement for the annual revision of the Roll (and the annual display of notices) has been discontinued. People may apply to be added (or removed) from the Roll at any time.
The Roll should not be displayed publicly in church. Instead, a list of names (not addresses) appearing on the Roll should be made available for inspection on request by any Member of the Church in Wales. Member of the Church in Wales means: Member of the Church in Wales means:
- any office holder in the Church in Wales;
- any Cleric and deaconess in receipt of a pension from the Representative Body;
- any person whose name is entered on the electoral roll of a Parish; and
- any member of the Governing Body and the Representative Body and any committees of them.
A revised Electoral Roll form, in English and Welsh, is available to download below in both PDF and Word format. The Word version of the form can be amended by parishes to insert their parish details but should not be further amended.
A draft Privacy Notice is also available below in Word format. This should be made available to anybody applying to be on the electoral roll. The parish name and contact details of the relevant parish officer should be inserted into this notice by each parish prior to printing.
In 2022 and every five years afterwards, each parish is required to undertake a complete ‘re-write’ of the Roll. All members of the roll must re-apply, or their names are removed from the Roll. There are two notices which should be displayed in church as part of that process:
A Notice of Proposed Revision of the Roll – this gives the congregation formal notice that they need to (re)apply to join the Roll. The details of the relevant parish and the relevant deadlines for application should be inserted by each parish, and then this notice should be displayed in each parish church for at least 15 days prior to revising the Roll.
A Notice of Completed Revision of the Roll – this gives the congregation formal notice that the process has been completed and that the revised Roll is available for inspection. It must be displayed for at least 15 days prior to the Annual Vestry Meeting.