Frequently Asked Questions — Geographical Constituency
Q1: Who can register?
A1: If you are a Hong Kong permanent resident aged 18 or above, and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong, you are eligible to register as an elector in a geographical constituency.
Q2: Why should I register?
A2: Only after you have registered as an elector can you exercise your right to vote in the Legislative Council and District Council elections. It is your right to elect your representative to sit on these bodies. If you are eligible to vote in the Election Committee subsector elections, you also need to register as a voter before you can vote at the elections.
Q3: How do I register as an elector?
A3: If you are not a registered elector and you wish to be registered in a geographical constituency, you must complete the application form “Application for New Registration / Report on Change of Particulars by an Elector in a Geographical Constituency” (REO-GC).
Notes: Applications for new voter registration must be supported with address proof. You may refer to A11 to A13 for acceptable types of address proof.
You can obtain the “Application for New Registration / Report on Change of Particulars by an Elector in a Geographical Constituency” (REO-GC) by the following ways-
- by downloading from this website;
- by fax through calling the hotline on 2891 1001; and
- at District Offices, management offices of public housing estates and the Registration and Electoral Office.
Addresses of the Registration and Electoral Office:
-
8/F Treasury Building
3 Tonkin Street West
Cheung Sha Wan
Kowloon -
29/F Standard Chartered Tower
Millennium City 1
388 Kwun Tong Road
Kwun Tong
Kowloon
-
8/F Treasury Building
After completing and signing the application form, you may submit the form, together with an address proof issued within the last three months, to the Registration and Electoral Office via the following channels-
- through “iAM Smart” mobile App (If you have an "iAM Smart+" account with digital signing function or a valid personal digital certificate) (Click here for the user manual)
- through online application (If you have an "iAM Smart+" account with digital signing function or a valid personal digital certificate)
- by email to form@reo.gov.hk
- through the e-Form Upload Platform
- by post to the Registration and Electoral Office, 29/F, Standard Chartered Tower, Millennium City 1, 388 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon
- by fax to 2891 1180
If you would like to submit a voter registration application form through electronic means, please note the “Guidance Notes on Submission of Voter Registration Application by Digital Files”.
Q4: If I am a registered elector, how do I report change of my registration particulars, such as registered address, name, email address and contact phone number?
A4: If you are a registered elector and you wish to report change of registration particulars, you must complete the application form “Application for New Registration / Report on Change of Particulars by an Elector in a Geographical Constituency” (REO-GC).
Notes: Applications for change of registered address must be supported with address proof. You may refer to A11 to A13 for acceptable types of address proof.
You can obtain the “Application for New Registration / Report on Change of Particulars by an Elector in a Geographical Constituency” (REO-GC) by the following ways-
- by downloading from this website;
- by fax through calling the hotline on 2891 1001; and
- at District Offices, management offices of public housing estates and the Registration and Electoral Office.
Addresses of the Registration and Electoral Office:
-
8/F Treasury Building
3 Tonkin Street West
Cheung Sha Wan
Kowloon -
29/F Standard Chartered Tower
Millennium City 1
388 Kwun Tong Road
Kwun Tong
Kowloon
-
8/F Treasury Building
After completing and signing the application form, you may submit the form, together with an address proof issued within the last three months, to the Registration and Electoral Office via the following channels-
- through “iAM Smart” mobile App (If you have an "iAM Smart+" account with digital signing function or a valid personal digital certificate) (Click here for the user manual)
- through online application (If you have an "iAM Smart+" account with digital signing function or a valid personal digital certificate)
- by email to form@reo.gov.hk
- through the e-Form Upload Platform
- by post to the Registration and Electoral Office, 29/F, Standard Chartered Tower, Millennium City 1, 388 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon
- by fax to 2891 1180
If you would like to submit a voter registration application form through electronic means, please note the “Guidance Notes on Submission of Voter Registration Application by Digital Files”.
In addition, if you are a registered elector, you can submit application through “iAM Smart” mobile App, submit online application or send an email to reoenq@reo.gov.hk should you wish to provide/update your email address for communication with the Registration and Electoral Office and/or for receiving election mail related to electioneering activities from the candidates of the constituencies concerned.
Q5: Are there any deadlines for new voter registration and change of registration particulars?
A5: Eligible Hong Kong permanent residents / registered electors may submit “Application for New Registration / Report on Change of Particulars by an Elector in a Geographical Constituency” (REO-GC) at any time of the year (Click here for online application). However, should they wish their applications to be processed by this Office when compiling the registers of electors to be published in a particular year, they should submit the application forms to this Office on or before the statutory deadlines of that year listed below:
New Voter Registration: | 2 June |
Report on Change of Particulars by an Elector: | 2 June |
If the application forms are submitted after the statutory deadline, the registration particulars of the relevant electors could only be reflected in the registers of electors to be published in the subsequent year.
Q6: Am I entitled to vote immediately after I submit an application for new voter registration? / Am I entitled to vote in the new constituency and at a new polling station immediately after I report change of registered address?
A6: In accordance with the relevant electoral regulation, the Registration and Electoral Office will assign constituencies and polling stations according to the registered addresses as recorded in the current Final Register of Electors, which is updated once a year. If there is/are any District Council or Legislative Council election(s) before the publication of the next Final Register, the Registration and Electoral Office will assign constituencies and polling stations according to the registered addresses in the prevailing Final Register.
Q7: Do I need to use different application forms for new voter registration and report on change of particulars?
A7: Members of public should use the “Application for New Registration / Report on Change of Particulars by an Elector in a Geographical Constituency” (REO-GC) for both new registration as an elector in a geographical constituency and report on change of his/her registration particulars (Click here for online application).
Q8: I have filled out an application form several years ago. Do I have to register again?
A8: Electors on prevailing register are not required to register again. You may check your registration status and particulars through “iAM Smart”, the Voter Registration website (vr.gov.hk) or by calling the Registration and Electoral Office hotline at 2891 1001.
For electors with inaccurate registration particulars, their registration status and eligibility to vote may be affected. Please complete and sign the “Application for New Registration / Report on Change of Particulars by an Elector in a Geographical Constituency” (REO-GC) and submit the form, together with an address proof issued within the last three months (applicable for application for change of registered address), to this Office (Click here for online application), so that this Office can update your registration particulars.
Q9: I only turn 18 at the end of September this year but the registration deadline is 2 June. Could I register as an elector now?
A9: The final register is published on or before 25 September each year. If you reach 18 years of age on or before 25 September that year, and if you are a Hong Kong permanent resident, you are eligible to apply for registration as an elector.
Q10: I shall move to a new flat in the near future, should I report my new home address to the Registration and Electoral Office now?
A10: You should complete and sign the “Application for New Registration / Report on Change of Particulars by an Elector in a Geographical Constituency” (REO-GC), and submit the form, together with an address proof issued within the last three months, to the Registration and Electoral Office after you have moved home (Click here for online application). If you submit an application for change of registered address on or before the statutory deadline of that voter registration cycle (i.e. on or before 2 June of the year), your new address will be reflected in the Final Register for Electors published in that year.
Q11: What kinds of documents are accepted as address proofs?
A11: The Registration and Electoral Office accepts the documents below issued within the last three months (subject to the date on which the application form is received by the Registration and Electoral Office), which bear the issuing date, the name of issuing organisation, the applicant’s name and principal residential address (name and address on the document should be identical to those on the Hong Kong Identity Card and in the application form respectively) as a valid proof of address:
- bills or invoices issued by public bodies (e.g. utility bills for water, electricity or towngas services);
- correspondence from government departments or the Judiciary;
- statements or correspondence issued by banks, insurance companies or Mandatory Provident Fund Approved Trustees;
- bills of landline telephone, mobile phone, paid television or internet services;
- documents or bills issued by local post-secondary institutions which reliance can be placed on confirming the elector’s residential address;
- valid and "stamped" (for stamp duty) tenancy agreement (there is no need for it to be issued within 3 months before the date of submitting the application but such tenancy period should cover the date of receipt of the application); or
- bills, correspondence or other documents issued by public organisations such as the Hospital Authority, Housing Department, Hong Kong Housing Society, Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, etc.
Q12: If I cannot provide documents with my name and residential address as the address proof, what alternative documents may I submit to serve as valid address proof?
A12: Apart from the elector’s own address proof, the Registration and Electoral Office also accepts the documents below issued within the last three months (subject to the date on which the application form is received by the Registration and Electoral Office), which bear the issuing date and name of issuing organisation as a valid proof of address:
- An address proof which bears the name and residential address of the person residing with the applicant, and a declaration signed by the applicant to confirm that such other person is living with the applicant at the same address above and that the attached address proof is a complete authentic copy or true copy of the original. Sample of the relevant declaration can be downloaded from the website of the Registration and Electoral Office
(https://www.reo.gov.hk/en/voter/ap.htm). - If the applicant is not able to produce any documents listed above, the Registration and Electoral Office also accepts a statutory declaration provided by the applicant made before a Commissioner for Oaths/a practising solicitor/a Justice of the Peace to substantiate the claim of residing at the declared address by virtue of the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap.11). Free service for making statutory declarations for the purpose related to voter registration is available at Registration and Electoral Office. For details on Registration and Electoral Office providing statutory declarations service for matters related to voter registration in geographical constituencies, please refer to the website (https://www.reo.gov.hk/en/voter/ap/sd.html).
Q13: If my new home is a flat in public rental housing under the Housing Department or subsidised housing under the Hong Kong Housing Society, can I be exempted from the address proof requirement when I apply for new voter registration or change of address?
A13: For electors/ applicants who are the authorised occupants of public rental housing under the Housing Department or registered residents in the tenancy of subsidised housing under the Hong Kong Housing Society applying for change of registered address/ new voter registration, and that the addresses in the tenancy records match the residential addresses provided by them, address proof requirement for such persons may be exempted.
However, residents of housing units under the Home Ownership Scheme or public housing units which have been sold (e.g. flats under the Tenants Purchase Scheme) fall outside the scope of exemption and the electors/ applicants concerned should provide valid address proofs.
For cases where the Electoral Registration Officer cannot cross check the relevant applicant’s particulars in the data matching with concerned department/organisation, the Officer may request the relevant applicant to provide an address proof when applying for new voter registration or change of registered address under sections 4 and 10A of the Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration of Electors)(Legislative Council Geographical Constituencies)(District Council Geographical Constituencies) Regulation (Cap. 541A).
Q14: If I know someone provides false information for voter registration, how do I inform the government departments?
A14: Under the existing voter registration arrangements, a self-declaration system is adopted to facilitate the registration of eligible persons as electors. Applicants must provide true and accurate information. If the public members come across suspicious cases, they may lodge complaints to the Registration and Electoral Office which will follow up promptly and refer the cases to the law enforcement agencies for investigation as appropriate. The general public should not contravene the laws.
Q15: If someone provides a false residential address to the Registration and Electoral Office for voter registration, or provides a fraudulent address proof document when applying for new voter registration or change of registered address, and subsequently votes at an election, which law will he/she contravene?
A15: A person who knowingly or recklessly makes false or misleading information (e.g. false residential address) to the Registration and Electoral Office, notwithstanding whether that person votes at an election or not, commits an offence under the law. If the person subsequently votes at an election, he/she will breach section 16 of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (Cap. 554), which is enforced by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The maximum penalty is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for 7 years.
Besides, if an elector produces or provides a fraudulent address proof with an intention that the Electoral Registration Officer shall accept it as a valid proof of address, he/she has committed the offence of forgery. In accordance with section 71 of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200), a person who commits the offence of forgery is liable for conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 14 years.
Q16: I am a new arrival from the Mainland. Can I register as an elector?
A16: All Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 or above who ordinarily reside in Hong Kong may apply for registration as an elector.
Q17: How do I know that my records are correctly entered on the register of electors?
A17: Registered electors can check their registration status and particulars through "iAM Smart", the Voter Registration website (vr.gov.hk) or by calling the Registration and Electoral Office hotline at 2891 1001.
Q18: Are there any safeguards against possible abuse of my personal data?
A18: You are rest assured that information provided by an elector will only be used for voter registration and election related purposes. The Registration and Electoral Office has adopted every possible means to ensure that such data will not be misused. In accordance with the relevant electoral regulation, the Registers of Electors will only be made available for inspection by specified persons and request of an extract by specified persons. Using any information on a register for a purpose other than a purpose related to an election is an offence under the relevant electoral regulation, and is liable to a fine at level 2 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
Q19: I have submitted an application for new voter registration / change of registration particulars. How do I know that the Registration and Electoral Office has processed my application?
A19: The Registration and Electoral Office will issue registration notices by post to notify the applicants concerned that their applications for new voter registration / change of registration particulars have been successfully completed. In addition, the applicants concerned will be notified of the same by SMS/email (if they have provided such information). Applicants can also check their registration status and particulars through "iAM Smart", the Voter Registration website (vr.gov.hk) or by calling Registration and Electoral Office hotline at 2891 1001.
Q20: Which department should I approach for help if I have more questions on voter registration?
A20: For enquiries, you are welcome to call the Registration and Electoral Office hotline at 2891 1001 or email us at reoenq@reo.gov.hk for more information.