Importance of the Church electoral roll
The parish church electoral roll is the first building block of the church’s governance structure. It is a register of the lay members of the church who are entitled to vote at the APCM. Subject to the eligibility note below, those on the roll are eligible to be elected to lay representative positions on their PCC and deanery synod. Deanery synod representatives may then in turn be eligible for election to diocesan synod and general synod. The total number on the parish church electoral roll, as presented at the APCM, is an important factor in determining the number of lay representatives (parochial and deanery synod) that a parish may have, as well as ia component of how parish share allocation is determined.
Given this, each year a formal process is undertaken by the PCC, as preparation for the APCM, to ensure the roll's accuracy. FOR 2025 A NEW ELECTORAL ROLL WILL NEED TO BE PREPARED (EVERY 6 YEARS) INSTEAD OF THE USUAL REVISION. Please see the APCM webpage for further guidance on the procedure, forms and timing of this process. For the rules governing electoral roll enrolment, revisions and preparation see Church Representation Rules Part 1. A summary of these rules is provided below with the relevant link to the forms.
The only qualifications required are to be resident, baptised, 16 or over, self-declared member of the Church of England (or church in communion with it) and not ordained. Where you are not resident in the parish, you need to attend worship (at least monthly) for over six months and still meet the other conditions.
Note 1: Anyone wishing to stand for election to the parochial church council or deanery synod must have had their name entered on the Church Electoral Roll for not less than six months prior to the election (except in the case of those under the age of eighteen) and be an ‘actual communicant’ see CRR 83(2) for definition.
A formal process of electoral roll revision is required annually in preparation for the APCM, where parishioners are publicly notified of the opportunity to apply or to advise of any removals subject to circumstances set out in CRR part 1 (4). Whilst names do not need to be removed from the roll outside of this annual process; eligible individuals are entitled to be added to the electoral roll throughout the year. When additions are made, the electoral roll officer must report these at the next PCC meeting (as a rolling agenda item).
Every sixth year, instead of a revision, new electoral rolls must be prepared, which means that everyone must re-apply to be included on the electoral roll of their church. A longer notice period is required than for a revision (for at least 2 months before the APCM) and the PCC must take reasonable steps to advise its parishioners of the need to re-apply to still be on the electoral roll. The next occasion for the preparation of new rolls is 2025. See the APCM process for actions and timings on the electoral roll and before and after the APCM.
The PCC must appoint an electoral roll officer with the task of maintaining the electoral roll (update for new and removal of names). This individual may be a PCC member (who may hold another parish officer role), but does not need to be, nor do they automatically become a PCC member on appointment of this role. Either way, the ultimate responsibility for the electoral roll upkeep remains with the PCC.
The electoral roll should be accessible by the PCC and not exclusively by one individual, such as the electoral roll officer. The roll must capture names, residential address and an email address where one is given in the application form. However, the electoral roll that is displayed, as part of the annual APCM process, in accordance with data protection requirements, must only display names, no other personal data. The roll must be made available for inspection on a reasonable request being made to the PCC, but again only names must be made available, no other personal data. If an individual does not want their name to be publicly displayed, they cannot be on the church electoral roll.
Information to be submitted to the diocese
No later than 1 July in each year, the PCC chair/vice-chair/ secretary/ electoral roll officer must advise the secretary of the diocesan synod of the number of names on the roll as at the date of the APCM. This should be done via the parish returns system, by logging on (contacting parishreturns@oxford.anglican.org for a logon if you don’t have one or this is lost) and going onto electoral roll input page. Please note this is only accessible after Easter (the portal is handled by National Church). See screen prints below for further guidance. ONLY If you are unable to do this please email dero@oxford.anglican.org with the electoral roll number for your parish, as we will enter this for you, but do not send if you have already entered the number to save us the exercise of checking. Please also do NOT send us the electoral roll itself, in any form, as would form a breach of data protection laws to do so.
