Anti-Brexit British expats living in Malta are being urged to make their voice heard during the upcoming UK general election by being matched with a proxy who would vote on their behalf.
To help anti-Brexit Britons living abroad, pro-remain campaigners Proxy Voters Against Brexit set up a special online system to pair pro-remain ex-pats with pro-remain proxies in hundreds of UK parliamentary constituencies.
Voters living outside of the UK are prompted to enter the postcode of where they are registered to vote. This is then matched against 1,000s of postcodes for anti Brexit campaigners and if a close match is found an introduction is made.
Like a dating site, the pair meet up electronically and decide if to proceed or, if they are not politically compatible, look for another match.
The UK is set to go to the polls on December 12 after MPs backed UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's call for an election following months of Brexit deadlock.
Mr Johnson hopes the election will give him a fresh mandate for his Brexit deal and break the parliamentary deadlock which has led to the UK's exit being further delayed to January 31.
Under British law, expats are allowed to vote in general elections if they left the UK within the last 15 years and were previously registered there. Voters who cannot vote in person, can appoint another person, known as a proxy, to vote on their behalf.
Every vote will count – that's why we are appealing to thousands of British anti-Brexit expats in Malta to register to vote online...
Proxy Voters Against Brexit said they feared Brexit will break up the UK, harm Britain's economy, trigger years of further economic uncertainty and threaten Maltese and other business confidence in Britain.
"The only real way we can stop Brexit is through a second referendum – to say yes or no to the government's Brexit deal, and to remain in the EU if the voters say no to the deal," said Nigel Grey, the proxy campaign's founder.
"Every vote will count – that's why we are appealing to thousands of British anti-Brexit expats in Malta to register to vote online and then use our new online system to appoint a pro-second referendum proxy,” he said.
To be able to vote in the December 12 UK election, voters must register to vote with the UK authorities by 11.59pm (UK time) on November 26 - and, to then be able to vote by proxy, their proxy application forms need to have been received by the relevant UK authorities by 5pm (UK time) on December 4 for England, Scotland and Wales or by 5pm (UK time) on November 21 for Northern Ireland.
Voters who want to be matched with a proxy can visit the group’s Facebook page here or contact the group by Direct Messaging @BritsfortheEU on twitter.