Briefing on the Representation of the People Bill - Committee stage (Lords) - Registration of voters

Part 2 - Registration of voters

Part 2 of the Bill introduces changes to enable more innovative electoral registration systems, including registration without an application.

Overview

Having complete and accurate registers is fundamental to democratic participation – if voters are not correctly registered, they cannot participate. Evidence from our electoral registration research shows that as many as 8 million eligible people across the UK are not correctly registered to vote.

Direct registration (also known, as automatic voter registration or AVR, and referred to in the Bill as ‘registration without an application’) could significantly increase the number of people who are correctly registered and able to participate in future elections. The Electoral Commission strongly supports this set of changes, which should significantly improve both completeness and accuracy of the register.

The requirement to submit an application to be registered can be a barrier to some, and we know that some groups of people are less likely to be registered correctly: attainers and other young people; people who live in private rented accommodation; disabled people; and recent home-movers.

The Bill includes provisions that would enable direct registration. When commenced, these would impose a duty on Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to register voters (or update a person’s details on the register) without requiring them to submit registration applications. A direct registration process would remove barriers for voters and make it easier to register and vote.

As well as direct registration, the Government is exploring other ways of improving voter registration. These range from integrated registration – where applications for other services, such as obtaining a passport or driving licence, are used to prompt users to register to vote – to assisted registration, where EROs could use the information to offer targeted support to people rather than register them directly.

The Bill includes a power for regulations to be made to enable relevant data to be shared between, for example, Government departments, public bodies and EROs, to support these new forms of electoral registration.

While the final version of direct registration may take longer, we believe that significant progress can be made on implementing integrated registration and other measures to help 16- and 17-year olds to register to vote before the next general election.

The Bill includes powers to pilot the direct registration provisions before they are brought into effect. The Commission will independently evaluate direct registration pilots and continue to provide support and guidance to EROs, who under these proposals would continue to be responsible for compiling and maintaining the electoral registers throughout the year. Successful pilots in Wales last year show how effective direct registration can be.

We are urging the Government to move quickly to implement its strategy for improving voter registration. We expect significant progress in rolling out integrated registration ahead of the next general election and, subject to successful pilots, the introduction of direct registration as soon as practicable. The government should prioritise systems and datasets that focus on groups that are historically under-registered, such as young people.

We currently run public awareness campaigns to promote voter registration ahead of elections. We will continue to do this, adapting our campaign to ensure it reflects the final registration model and accounting for possible divergence across the UK.

Key considerations

Implementing direct, integrated and assisted registration systems will help reduce the large number of unregistered eligible voters, as shown in countries around the world. Recent pilots in Wales successfully identified and added just over 14,500 new voters to registers, including a significant number of attainers – with high accuracy.

We welcome the Welsh Government laying regulations to enable direct registration for Senedd and local government elections. However, the development of parallel systems across the UK creates a potential risk of divergence, which may lead to voter confusion and poor value for money.

We urge the UK's governments to continue to work closely together at all stages of legislation and implementation to learn from each other’s experiences and ultimately align their direct registration systems for the benefit of administrators and, most importantly, voters.

Devolved considerations

Following pilots in Wales, the Welsh Government is planning to roll out direct registration in Wales in advance of the 2027 local government elections. We are working with officials on implementation. We have recommended that the Welsh Government considers how a direct registration system introduced for Wales could allow for future integration with a UK-wide system, and for the UK Government to look to Welsh pilots in its own implementation planning. Having several different registration systems in place across the UK is unlikely to represent value for money, and divergent systems risk confusion for voters and complexity for EROs.

In Scotland, levels of completeness remain lower than in other parts of the UK, with private renters significantly less likely to be correctly registered at their current address. Reforms to registration may support improvements, in particular since Scotland holds less frequent elections, which lessens the impact of registration drives around elections.

Direct registration in Northern Ireland could have an impact on the role of the canvass – particularly in the context of broader questions about the limitations of the current canvass model, and whether more targeted, data-driven approaches to maintaining the electoral register could be adopted.

Clauses 17, 18 and 19, Schedule 2 – Registration without an application, alteration of registers without an application

When commenced, Clause 17 would impose a duty on EROs to add unregistered citizens to the electoral register where the ERO is satisfied they are entitled to be registered and following a notice period.

This clause also gives citizens the right to opt out of direct registration if they choose to do so. This is an important safeguard – for example, it will allow individuals to opt out, to apply for anonymous registration if they wish, or to register as a service voter, overseas elector, or as a voter with a declaration of local connection.

Clause 18 places a duty on the ERO to alter a person’s entry in the electoral register if they are aware of any changes to that person’s name or address and that person is entitled to be registered. An opt-out also applies to this provision, with the ERO required to give the person notice.

Clauses 20 to 25 – Powers to pilot changes to the voter registration process

These clauses introduce a power to allow the piloting of new methods of registration.

Amendment(s) grouped with Clause 25

67 [Baroness Lister] would require the Secretary of State to publish a plan for implementation of registration without an application

These clauses allow for pilots to take place on changes to the voter registration process, including direct registration and alteration. This could involve the piloting of registration without an application, altering a person’s entry in the register without an application, or removing entries in the register.

The success of any pilots will depend significantly on the areas selected to participate. Pilot areas should be chosen against clear and transparent criteria to ensure that they test direct registration and alteration across a range of areas, including different demographics, geographies and delivery models. We would expect to be consulted on both the criteria for selection and the proposed pilot areas to help ensure that the pilots generate robust evidence that can inform decisions about wider implementation.

Securing timely devolved consent and any necessary legislative changes in Scotland and Wales will be important to maximise participation in the pilots. This will also support coherent administration of parliamentary and devolved registers, and minimise divergence in registration arrangements.

We will independently evaluate and report on registration pilots, considering the benefits offered to voters and administrators by each approach and assessing the extent to which the pilot objectives were met.

Clauses 26 to 29 – Northern Ireland canvass

These clauses introduce powers to allow for the testing of new approaches to running the canvass in Northern Ireland, and for the Commission to report on proposals.

The Chief Electoral Officer of Northern Ireland (EONI) is responsible for managing the electoral register in Northern Ireland, rather than individual EROs, as is the case in Great Britain.

An electoral registration canvass must take place across Northern Ireland at least once every ten years. During the canvass period, every eligible elector is required to apply to register to vote – even if they have already registered. The canvass, in its current form, has limitations for maintaining an accurate and complete electoral register: up to 300,000 people are still incorrectly registered or missing from the voter roll in Northern Ireland.

There is a strong case for fundamental change to modernise the registration system in Northern Ireland. Using data for more targeted canvassing could deliver a more cost-effective canvass and improve value for money.

If the Secretary of State consults the Commission under the power to amend the duty to conduct a canvass, the Commission must prepare a report assessing how the canvass is meeting voter registration goals in Northern Ireland, whether the proposed regulations would help the Chief Electoral Officer do their job, and whether there are other, more effective ways to help the Chief Electoral Officer.

These clauses provide a power to make changes to the conduct and timing of the canvass in Northern Ireland, including through pilots. The Commission would be required to evaluate and produce a report on any changes or pilots. This will ensure that the UK Government and Parliament have access to robust data and analysis on the potential impact of any changes to the canvass before making permanent changes.

Clauses 30 to 38 – Other provisions about registration

These clauses make further changes to the registration process, including to anonymous registration, the registration deadline, the Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card, and the open register opt-in.

Clause 32: Seniority of Electoral Registration Officers (see also Clause 40 – Seniority of Returning Officers)

This clause would require local authorities to appoint a senior officer to act as Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). It would narrow eligibility for ERO roles to specified senior local authority officers, or other senior officers designated under the relevant local government legislation.

We support the policy intention of ensuring that EROs are appointed at an appropriately senior level within local authorities. This would help to ensure that they can direct local authority staff and resources to support the effective delivery of electoral registration and elections.

However, the current drafting may exclude experienced senior officers who already, currently perform the role effectively, creating risks for succession planning and electoral resilience.

Clause 33 – anonymous voter registration

Since 2006, people have been able to register to vote without sharing their name and home address. Anonymous registration protects those whose safety would be at risk if these details were on the electoral register. However, registration as an anonymous elector in Great Britain only lasts for up to one year, so anyone who wants to remain registered anonymously must reapply each year.

Clause 33 extends the length of the anonymity period in Great Britain to three years. This change will reduce the burden on victims of domestic violence and others requiring anonymous registration and make it easier for them to maintain the protection they need.

Clause 34 – voter registration deadline

The current voter registration deadline is not clearly defined in legislation; it is calculated as midnight, 12 working days before an election, using other deadlines in legislation. Clause 34 sets the pre-election registration deadline for any election at 5pm, 12 working days before the poll. This will provide clarity in the legislation and align the deadline with other election application deadlines, such as the absent vote deadline, already set at 5pm. It will also provide consistency for voters and allow any queries with a registration application to be addressed within the working day.

We will update our voter registration campaign to ensure the public are aware of the voter registration deadline.

Clause 36 – Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card

Clause 36 makes changes to the Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card, removing the day from the date of birth on the card, to prevent it being used for purposes other than elections.

While this change will not reduce access to electoral identity cards, it could mean that people are less likely to apply for a card if they are unable to use it to prove their date of birth. This is likely to reduce access to voting in Northern Ireland. It would have no impact on the card's security when used as proof of ID at a polling station.

Clause 37 – Information to assist registration officers

The Bill’s voter registration reforms depend on the UK Government creating clear legal gateways for UK government departments and public sector bodies to share data on potentially eligible individuals with EROs. Clause 37 therefore includes a new power to improve data sharing between government departments and public bodies for electoral registration purposes.

This will support direct registration, alongside other key reforms such as integrated registration, where registering to vote would be integrated within another public service transaction, such as applying for a passport or driving license.

The Bill also strengthens EROs’ power to access locally held data to assist with registration.

Relevant departments and other public bodies will need to work closely with EROs to facilitate electoral registration using their data. EROs and data source organisations will need a reliable and secure system to manage the communication of data between them, building on the digital service that is already used to support voter registration applications.

Clause 38 – opting out of the open register

Currently, people’s names and addresses are included on the open register unless they opt out when applying to register to vote. The open register is the version of the electoral register that is available to anyone who wants to buy a copy.

Clause 38 switches the default for the open register so that people in future will be asked if they want to opt in rather than opt out of the open register. This will apply to all electors and forms of registration, including new forms of registration, such as automatic registration. People under 16 years old and anonymous electors must not be asked if they want to be on the open register.

This change will reduce the risks to some voters’ safety by being included (by default) on the open register and removes a barrier for those that may not want their details to be accessible. We support this change and have long called for the open register to be abolished.