As many as eight million people face being disenfranchised at the
next election due to an electoral registration system which is
neither effective nor efficient, says the cross-party
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC)
Committee in a report published today (Thursday).
The report finds that the current state of the electoral
registration system, which governs local elections in England and
UK general elections, needs urgent review.
The report finds that there have been notable issues with the
practical implementation of recent electoral registration
reforms, including voter ID which left individuals without the
right ID being prevented from voting and only a limited number of
forms of ID being permitted. The report disagrees with the
Government’s view on the adequacy of the list of accepted photo
ID and believes it should be widened to include other forms, such
as emergency services passes and non-London travel passes.
, Chair of the Levelling
Up, Housing and
Communities (LUHC) Committee, said: “Elections
are the cornerstone of our democracy and yet we are burdened by a
system which is both ineffective and inefficient, where millions
of people are disenfranchised because they are incorrectly
registered or not on the electoral register. In the year of a
general election, this is a damning indictment of the UK’s
electoral registration arrangements and a threat to the rights of
British voters.
“Our voter registration system is creaking. Recent changes such
as voter ID have been tacked onto a Victorian era system which is
failing voters, political parties, and election officials. We
need a major review of our election arrangements to boost voter
registration and to ensure our elections are seen as credible and
legitimate. It is a major and fundamental defect in our
democratic system that many millions of UK citizens face being
unable to make their voice heard at election time.”
The report recognises that certain groups, such as young people,
renters, ethnic minorities, and those in lower socio-economic
groups are significantly less likely to be registered to vote.
The Committee were also told that some disabled people do not
feel supported to register to vote, particularly struggling with
the lack of variety in communication channels.
The report recommends a series of steps to help tackle
under-registration, including involving schools and bodies such
as the Department for Work & Pensions, HM Revenue and
Customs, Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency, and HM Passport
Office in signposting voter registration. The report also
recommends that registering to vote be signposted when national
insurance numbers are issued to citizens who reach sixteen years
of age as a way of ensuring that more young people are entered on
the electoral register.
The report highlights the importance for local authorities and
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to understand
communication and access needs to ensure that people with
disabilities are not shut out of the electoral process. The
report finds it totally unacceptable that local authorities are
contacting people without taking into account their communication
needs.
The report also calls for the Government to move towards an opt
in automated voter registration system to help ensure that voters
are not disenfranchised.
The report notes the current strains on the electoral
registration system, including the loss of electoral staff and
expertise. The report also expresses concern at the pressures on
the registration system caused by event led registration, a surge
of applications in the pre-election period when voting is at the
forefront of voters’ minds. The report warns that election
officials may struggle to cope with these pressures at the next
General Election, given that, following the Elections Act 2022,
there are now additionally up to 3.4 million British citizens who
live overseas who can register to vote.
The report references the Electoral Commission's 2023 report,
"Electoral registers in the UK”, which found that completeness of
the registers in the UK is at 86%. ‘Accuracy’ looks at the number
of false entries on the electoral registers and is currently at
88%. This means that potentially as many as eight million people
were not correctly registered at their current address and people
may be registered twice inadvertently. The completeness of
the electoral registers in Great Britain is 86%. The
Commission explained that " if a UK general election was called
now, around 14% of the eligible population would not be able to
vote."
The Committee’s report notes the example of Canada, where the
system of electoral registration is broadly comparable to the
UK's as, unlike in many other countries, the UK and Canada do not
have a civil population register from which electoral registers
are derived. The Canadian system has resulted in electoral
registers with considerably higher rates of accuracy and
completeness than in the UK.
ENDS
Further information
The report summary is on p.3. A list of the report’s conclusions
and recommendations can be found on p.33. A list of the public
evidence sessions for this inquiry (and links to the transcripts
in each case) can be found on p.38 of the report.
