House of Commons - Constitutional Affairs

Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs Joint First Report

APPENDIX ONE: INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION IN OTHER COUNTRIES

1. The Canadian parliament passed legislation in 1996 to create a National Register of Electors based on individual registration. Each elector provides information about their name, address, sex and date of birth which is then kept on the register and used to produce preliminary voting lists for federal elections, by-elections and referendums. The information can only be used for electoral purposes and only names and addresses are shared with registered political parties and members of parliament. In addition, electors may choose not to be included in the register, although in this case they would have to add his or her name to the voters' list at the time of an election or referendum, should they wish to exercise their right to vote. Prior to the 1996 legislation, voters' lists were created for each election or referendum through door-to-door canvassing, unless a list had been compiled the previous year. The change to a permanent register has been estimated to yield net savings of $30m at every federal election or referendum.

2. Further savings have also been made through data-sharing between Elections Canada and other data sources. Approximately 20 per cent of the entries for electors change each year. To capture these changes, Elections Canada has agreements with data suppliers, including the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, provincial and territorial registrars of motor vehicles and vital statistics and provincial electoral agencies. Information is only passed from such organisations to Elections Canada with the informed consent of the individual concerned, and there is no link between the databases of Elections Canada and any of the data suppliers.[310]

3. The first full test of the new National Register came in the November 2000 federal election. One analysis of the participation rates indicates that there may be negative effects to take into account when assessing the new system, namely the permanent list has contributed to diminishing voter turnout and has accentuated the differential rates of participation between social groups which already existed.[311] Solutions offered to these drawbacks include making it easier for individuals to take the initiative to change their details and to add their names to the register between elections, and reinstating the nationwide enumeration on a periodic basis.[312]

AUSTRALIA

4. The ODPM Select Committee visited Melbourne in Autumn 2004 and spent time talking to both the State and National Electoral Commissions. They maintain a common electoral role. With compulsory voting at national and state level goes compulsory registration to vote. Anyone who has lived at an address for over a month has a duty to register on the electoral roll. Once registered, that registration remains until a person dies or moves to another address. Up to 1998, some effort went into a biannual canvass to check the accuracy of the register. Since then resources have been channelled into data-matching and targeting 17-18 year olds and people who moved house.

5. External data-matching included notification of deaths, new driving licences, Australia Post Redirection Advices and information from local authorities and utilities. This triggers a letter from the Electoral Commission inviting new registration, and reminding of the need to register or face a daily fine. New registration also triggers de-registration from an old address. Enrolment programmes run by individual electoral authorities target new citizens or 17 to 18 year old school students. In the latter case, "bounties" are paid to schools for enrolment by their students and enrolment forms are included in Year 12 results advice. As a result of registration the Commission had an accurate signature for each potential voter. Most requests to register produce a positive response. Even so the register is only believed to be 98% accurate at any one time.

6. The Committee heard a great deal about the electoral system during their visit but heard no complaints about the efficiency or accuracy of the register.[313]

NEW ZEALAND

7. Enrolment on the electoral register is compulsory also in New Zealand, although as in the UK, voting is not compulsory. Each individual has the responsibility to complete and sign an enrolment form and submit it to the Electoral Enrolment Centre by a variety of means, designed to make it easy for electors to enrol. They may also enrol on-line. There is a further obligation on electors to notify the Registrar of Electors of changes in their circumstances each time they move. There is in fact no instance of the power to prosecute an eligible elector who does not enrol being used. A confidential unpublished roll is maintained for those who believe they could be endangered by the publication of their details in the public electoral roll. The Electoral Enrolment Centre carries out internal system checks to identify ineligible electors but does not practice data-matching to identify unregistered potential electors.

8. The Electoral Enrolment Centre is required to give local councils lists of electors to compile their electoral rolls, and the rolls are also used to select potential jurors. Otherwise, only political parties, candidates and approved scientific/health researchers are entitled to the data. The Centre publishes a new roll every year, except in the year of a parliamentary election when two rolls are printed: the first is produced for registered electors to check that they are listed and the second, which is used on Election Day, includes electors who have registered after the election has been called. Electors who miss even this cut-off may still register to cast a "special declaration vote" up to and including election day itself.[314]

CALIFORNIA

9. In Autumn 2004 the ODPM Select Committee met the people responsible for the electoral process in San Francisco. Here, voting is in no way compulsory, nor is registering to vote. In many parts of San Francisco fewer than 50% of eligible voters register, and many adults are ineligible to vote. Of those who register, about 80% actually vote. One may register to vote at any time, but just prior to primaries and during election campaigns is the common time to do so. Once registered, an elector remains registered, until he or she loses the right to vote or moves.

10. The Committee saw scanned signatures from the registration document being compared with signatures provided when the ballot paper was issued at the polling station or accompanying the postal vote ballot envelope. When there appeared to be discrepancies, these were investigated. This included getting updated signatures.

11. A voluntary register avoided information about candidates, referendum questions, etc, being sent to people who had no intention of voting, keeping costs down, while the right to vote was maintained since people could register and vote right up to the close of poll.

12. The system of late registration and checking signatures for individual voters did mean results of elections could not be finalised for some weeks after polling day. This is not vital in the USA since administrations do not change hands immediately.