Student voting in general election.

[Starisnotanumber]

Ds at university has registered to vote at his student address. We have just received notice of a postal vote registered to our home address.I know you can only vote once but do you have to cancel one or just not send back the postal vote.
His votes unlikely to make a difference in uni town as it's strongly Labour and nobody else comes close but may make a difference in home constituency.

He is allowed to be registered at both addresses but he can only vote once in the same election. In the situation you describe he may want to think about using the postal vote at his home address and not voting in his university constituency.

Yes it's either but not both!
DS is voting by post in home constituency because it's more marginal.

It's either but not both - but, if it were local elections, he could vote in both places for things like councillors.

There is a web site somewhere which students can use to work out where their vote carries the most weight, Ds is registered in one marginal seat and one safe seat so the marginal one is where he has a postal vote for.

Thanks does he have to cancel university vote or just not vote there it's better to use his vote at home where it might make a difference.

No he should stay on the register at university just in case in the future there is a local by election (death/resignation of a councillor) or some other kind of election which he wants to vote in at his university address. All he needs to do is to use the postal vote which you have already received at his home address and not turn up to the polling station at his university address on election day.

Thanks that's explained the situation really clearly

Thanks you've explained the situation really clearly

IT is all open to massive abuse though. There is nothing much to stop students voting twice.

There is nothing much to stop students voting twice.
Other than the fact that it's a criminal offence, just because they are students doesn't make them dishonest?
The whole postal / proxy voting thing is open to abuse.

Getting students to vote once would be a minor miracle, I don't think we have to worry much about them voting twice!

DS is registered twice so he could vote in the mayoral election in his university city but will be coming home to vote in the GE as our home constituency is highly marginal.

I do think there should be more checks on postal votes though.

I did actually vote twice on the same day as a student but in totally different elections: the London local council elections by proxy and the Scottish parliamentary elections in person. But yes it is definitely open to abuse.