LONDON -- With the general election just around the corner, UK residents have until midnight Monday to register to vote.
People can register to vote online, which takes five minutes, or by visiting their local electoral registration office.
In the past five weeks, 1.7 million people have applied to vote, but there are still 7.5 million who are eligible but have yet to do so, according to the Electoral Commission.
Almost 470,000 of the more than 1.5 million online applications in the last five weeks have been made by 16-24 year olds, according to research released by the Commission, which said that the busiest day for registrations, so far, was on Sunday when 124,000 people registered to vote. 123,000 of these applications were made online.
'Register to vote' and #registertovote were trending in the UK on Twitter Monday, with some political leaders urging people to get involved in the upcoming election.
Your vote on 7 May can help change Britain. But you need to make sure you’re registered before midnight tonight: http://t.co/cdw02LpExu— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) April 20, 2015
Remember to register to vote: http://t.co/kcMocHSQRI #RegisterToVote #Ukip— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) April 20, 2015
Google was also reminding people to register to vote Monday on the Google UK homepage.
16 days to go, but today is your last chance to #RegisterToVote in the election → https://t.co/e1KuIW5TG7 #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/yYzoEOOdkD— Google UK (@GoogleUK) April 20, 2015
A week ago, the Electoral Commission teamed up with Twitter to urge the platform's 15 million active Twitter users in the UK that the April 20 deadline was approaching, encouraging them to visit the website.
One week left to register to vote at the #GE2015. Don't miss out, go online and register today! #registertovotehttps://t.co/6kgLil0vZu— Electoral Commission (@ElectoralCommUK) April 12, 2015
Other campaigns such as the 'I Give an X' campaign have been reminding people that only 65% of people who could vote actually cast a ballot in the 2010 general election.
'I Give an X' has been asking people to replace their social media avatars and profile pics with an X once they have registered to vote.
It's your last day to #RegisterToVote. If you want to be heard, do it: https://t.co/OY2G2E9ReD pic.twitter.com/giLnCB4pJ9— I give an X (@IgiveanX) April 19, 2015
You can register to vote if you're over the age of 16 and a British citizen. In order to actually cast a ballot, however, you must be over 18. Irish citizens and UK residents from Commonwealth countries can also register to vote.