This is a huge question, and it is coming up now. Carla Mozee for MarketWatch posted on June 13th, an excellent article on this topic and I suggest it is a necessary read to understand the potential for massive changes in the near future. “The clock is ticking down to the British referendum that will decide the U.K.’s relationship with Europe for generations to come—high time for a look at what will happen in the vote itself.”
Election or referendum in Great Britain. Voter holds envelope in hand above vote ballot. British and European Union flags in background.
And if you think we have challenges for our voting in the US, check this out:
Who can vote?
“Voters must be at least 18 years of age. Anyone who voted in May 5 local elections held in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland won’t need to re-register for June 23’s referendum.
Figures showing how many people have signed up to vote will be released somewhere around five days before the referendum. This is who is eligible to vote in person or via mail:
• British and Irish citizens living in the U.K.
• British and Irish citizens who live overseas—any country, not just in the EU—who have registered to vote in the U.K. in the last 15 years
• People from the Commonwealth who have permission to enter or remain in the U.K.
The Commonwealth is an organization of 53 countries that mostly were formerly part of the British Empire. That means Indians, Australians and South Africans, for example, who are U.K. residents will be among those going to the ballot box.
And while Fiji and Zimbabwe have been suspended from the Commonwealth, people from those countries who live in the U.K. can still take part in the referendum.
• But people from the EU who reside in the U.K. won’t be able to vote, apart from citizens of Malta, Cyprus and Ireland.
While people can vote by mail, one instance shows there may be risk in that. Some Britons who live in Germany and France have run into difficulties sending their prepaid Brexit ballots back to the U.K.”