The deadline to register to vote in the local elections on 1 May was 11 April. Last February we estimated that 8.2 million voters were missing or incorrectly registered on the electoral roll across England, Scotland and Wales. Since then, we have had local elections, Police and Crime Commissioner elections, by-elections and a general election; all which saw huge voter registration effort carried out by the Electoral Commission, local and national governments and civil society organisations – yet the problem of incomplete and inaccurate electoral registers persist.
Evidence from the 2024 general election shows that four in five poll workers had to turn at least one person away from the polling station as they were not on the electoral register. Whilst it may seem an obvious thing for many to do, registering to vote is not as easy or high up the to-do list for many; yet these people should still have access to voting. Students, private renters and people with learning disabilities are all less likely to be registered than the rest of the population.
The people left behind by voter registration
Consider a University student who has just left home for the first time, who has never had to register to vote before. Their parents received the annual canvass and crossed them off as they do not live with them anymore. If they move into university provided accommodation, they are not responsible for sorting out energy bills or council tax etc. Then when polling day comes around, the student finds they missed the registration deadline, and are unable to vote. This elector has dropped off the electoral register and been denied their right to vote.
Consider a private renter. The English Housing Survey 2021-2022 shows that 50% of these renters have been in their current home for less than 3 years. With elections (normally) every 5 years, this means that half of private renters are likely to be at a new address for each general election. With every move a renter makes comes with the admin of setting up a home again, they set up bills, council tax, figure out their commute and their local supermarket, get renters insurance – but bottom of that list is registering to vote. Through their housing circumstance they are less likely to be registered to vote.
Consider a person with a learning disability, often they are reliant to varying extents on their carers, friends and family to assist them in exercising their right to vote whether than be at the polling station or in the registration process. Mencap research showed that the registration system is inaccessible for learning disabled people, with 60% of those surveyed finding the process of registering to vote “too difficult”.
The solution is automatic voter registration (AVR)
In all these instances, potential electors are unable to vote due to a system that is designed around the normative concept of the voter. It’s time for that to change.
Friday 11th April should be the last time electors have to register to vote in our elections. Automatic Voter Registration (AVR), the process whereby someone is automatically entered onto the electoral roll, rather than having to opt in; would remove this burden on the elector and improve the accuracy and completeness of the register. This enfranchisement of millions of voters could have a huge impact on the number of people who turn out to vote. Considering turnout at the 2024 general election was the second lowest since 1918, does it not make sense to try a different system of registration?
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