Electoral Commission calls for review of registration process, criticises EROs over participation efforts

The Electoral Commission this week called for a government investigation into the electoral registration process and for better co-ordination among local registration officers, after research revealed that millions of potential voters are not on the electoral register.

The independent elections watchdog also claimed that four in ten Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are not doing enough to promote electoral registration in their community.

A study by the independent elections watchdog of the electoral registers in eight local authorities and other national data found that non-registration is higher among certain groups, particularly young people aged 17-24 (56% not registered) and people from black and minority ethnic communities (31% not registered).

The Electoral Commission’s report also highlighted that changes of address were a key reason for non-registration, with 21% of those living at their present address for a year or less not registered to vote. Other key findings include evidence suggesting a decline in registration rates in metropolitan areas, mirroring London’s traditionally lower rates.

Jenny Watson, chair of the Electoral Commission, said: “We want the next UK government and Parliament to look at the way we deliver electoral registration in this country, to ensure that it better serves voters’ needs. We need to look at ways of getting more co-ordination and leadership among the 379 local registration officers operating, in most part, in isolation from each other across Great Britain.”

Watson said fundamental questions needed to be asked about the timing of the annual canvas in the autumn, when elections are typically held in the spring.

The Commission also published its annual assessment of EROs’ performance in 2009. This found some improvement across all the standards, but gaps remain.

Pointing to weak performance on participation, Watson said: “Registration officers have a legal duty to promote participation in the registration process, but we found that many don’t have strategic plans in place to do so. This isn’t good enough when our registration report shows the need for more targeted action. We have asked every registration officer to make one final push before the general election.”