Obtaining someone's address from the electoral register

cte1111

The political parties have electronic copies of the full electoral roll. They use specific software to keep a note of people's voting intentions, if they've been canvassed in the past.

In order to find supporters, they also keep note of people who have been interested in key campaigns / issues and might well follow this up by knocking on your door and asking for help at election time, it's how many of their supporters are recruited.

If he'd used the details in order to send you a valentine's card, then that would be inappropriate. Chatting to a local resident who works nearby, then following up a positive seeming response with a polite visit to see if they would be interested in delivering leaflets, for example, would be seen as appropriate use I think.

Our local councillor asked us if we could deliver election leaflets, after he'd helped us with an issue. We are happy to do so, as I'd prefer him to be elected than the other candidates, that's how democracy works. If you don't want to be part of it, then that's fine too, but you can't blame them for asking.

Yorkie1

TheEffect wrote: »

I doubt they got your address from the electoral role. I work for one of the London Councils, and we do not need to look at the electoral role. We have an internal system that allows us to search for, and see details about, every resident, and every house in the borough.

fluffnutter wrote: »

As an aside, I should imagine that's where your internal system has come from in the first place. The council's taken its data from the electoral roll. Or did you think someone's keyed all that data in?

Data Protection Act principles apply here. Data can only be used for the purposes a) stated when collected, and b) stated on the DPA register for the organisation which holds it.

Employees of the council will be able to access data held by the council if it is to enable the council to fulfil its responsibilities. For example, if a council holds data on benefit claimants, then someone who works in the benefits department would be able to access that data but a road sweeper would not be allowed to. It's the same as a police officer accessing the police computer for personal reasons.

Internal council records will come from the Council tax database, I would probably have thought. Data for the electoral roll is collected solely for the purpose of elections.

Data held by the council for administrative purposes cannot be accessed or used for other purposes. A council does not have political campaigning as one of its purposes and so if a councillor has accessed council records for this purpose, in my view he has potentially breached the DPA.

Mimosa

Valli, security have said that they cannot do anything, as has my manager because technically he isn't doing anything wrong. He is not touching us, or verbally abusing us. Basically, we feel uncomfortable and we must deal with it. The minute he touches us, they can do something.

fluffnutter

Yorkie1 wrote: »

Data Protection Act principles apply here. Data can only be used for the purposes a) stated when collected, and b) stated on the DPA register for the organisation which holds it.

Employees of the council will be able to access data held by the council if it is to enable the council to fulfil its responsibilities. For example, if a council holds data on benefit claimants, then someone who works in the benefits department would be able to access that data but a road sweeper would not be allowed to. It's the same as a police officer accessing the police computer for personal reasons.

Internal council records will come from the Council tax database, I would probably have thought. Data for the electoral roll is collected solely for the purpose of elections.

Data held by the council for administrative purposes cannot be accessed or used for other purposes. A council does not have political campaigning as one of its purposes and so if a councillor has accessed council records for this purpose, in my view he has potentially breached the DPA.

I agree in the main but I'm not so sure about your statement above in bold. Councils can and do access the electoral roll for purposes other than those related to elections. So do many other organisations, e.g. credit reference agencies.

fluffnutter

Mimosa wrote: »

Valli, security have said that they cannot do anything, as has my manager because technically he isn't doing anything wrong. He is not touching us, or verbally abusing us. Basically, we feel uncomfortable and we must deal with it. The minute he touches us, they can do something.

Would it help if he were Labour?

Mimosa

TheEffect - benefit fraud:eek:!! Noooo...


The councillor definitely said he got our address from the electoral register. I was dumbfounded and didn't think to question it.


Yorkie1 - that's what I was thinking regarding a breach of DPA. He just doesn't seem to get where the "line" is and has crossed it many times over the years.

Mojisola

Mimosa wrote: »

When he is at the checkout he has done the following:
a) not emptied his basket, but takes out one item at a time for you to scan it. Once that is done he hands you the next item - and so on, for a whole basket! He did this for about a year.
b) launched into a spiel about your voting intentions. Such a brazen attitude leaves me squirming. Then he just looks at you waiting for an answer, whilst I stutter away. Yes, I'm silly.
c) stared at you whilst you are trying to scan and pack. You've asked him if he wants help with packing and he's said he could do it. He doesn't. He just stared and was silent. Hence, me jabbering away about the development. I was uncomfortable.

Mimosa wrote: »

Valli, security have said that they cannot do anything, as has my manager because technically he isn't doing anything wrong. He is not touching us, or verbally abusing us. Basically, we feel uncomfortable and we must deal with it. The minute he touches us, they can do something.

But he must be annoying other customers by being so slow so the manager could put in place strategies for getting him out of the shop as quickly as possible.

It's also worth learning how to keep quiet - he's manipulating you by leaving the long pauses. Say something short "I'm glad we have secret voting in this country - I like to keep these things private" or just don't speak at all.

Valli

Mimosa wrote: »

Valli, security have said that they cannot do anything, as has my manager because technically he isn't doing anything wrong. He is not touching us, or verbally abusing us. Basically, we feel uncomfortable and we must deal with it. The minute he touches us, they can do something.

I am fairly sure a store can refuse to serve any customer as long as that refusal is not made on prejudicial (i.e. racist) grounds. But your manager perhaps doesn't wish to aggravate him.

So he's a councillor with a 'dubious' reputation and yet he gets re-elected? Wow.

fluffnutter

Start wearing really, really obvious Labour party paraphernalia. A party badge, a red tie, an 'I Lenin' sticker (uniform permitting obviously). Or an Ed Miliband mask.

fluffnutter

Valli wrote: »

I am fairly sure a store can refuse to serve any customer as long as that refusal is not made on prejudicial (i.e. racist) grounds. But your manager perhaps doesn't wish to aggravate him.

So he's a councillor with a 'dubious' reputation and yet he gets re-elected? Wow.

It happens all the time! People vote for parties, not individuals and if you're a lifelong Tory voter then that's what you'll vote even if the MP in question has been shafting his expenses for years, or some other dubious activity.

See also Labour/Lib Dem etc. It's the same across the board.