Memorandum by the Liberal Democrats (VOT
38)
PRINCIPLE OF
INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION
1. The Liberal Democrats favour the introduction
of individual electoral registration as it provides a convenient
means to gather one or more personal identifiers or security checks
from individual electors.
2. Individual registration would need to
be accompanied by certain, tightly controlled, rules for someone
to fill in a form on behalf of someone else—for example
someone who, through physical disability, is not able to write.
ELECTORAL FRAUD
AND INDIVIDUAL
REGISTRATION
3. We believe that the security needs of
postal voting require such information to be gathered and used
in future elections.
4. We believe that the choice of such identifiers
should include a consideration of how they will be checked in
practice when postal votes are used and the resourcing implications
for those responsible for conducting such checks.
5. We believe that discussion over the choice
of such identifiers should carefully separate out the two distinct,
albeit related, security issues of identity fraud and identity
theft. Whilst the question of wholly false entries on the electoral
register is a possible prelude to electoral fraud, in practice
outside of Northern Ireland this is rarely the cause of fraud
accusations. Rather, accusations are much more commonly about
the misuse of postal votes issued in the name of someone who is
legitimately on the electoral register.
INFORMATION GATHERED
ON THE
ELECTORAL REGISTER
6. We believe that electoral registration
should as a matter of course request people's preferred titles
and also means of address (eg legal name: William Gladstone, preferred
name: Mr W Gladstone or Willie Gladstone).
7. This would enable those making use of
the electoral register to significantly reduce the number of complaints
from people about them being misaddressed in direct mail and similar.
8. We also believe that the inclusion of
postcodes should be made mandatory. This is of particular importance
for candidates wishing to exercise their legal right to a free
mailing in Westminster elections (and some other elections). The
Royal Mail, not unreasonably, expects any such addressed items
to include postcodes. By failing to provide postcodes some councils
are in effect undermining this legal right.
9. We also believe that the current inconsistency
between the content of the electoral register and the Royal Mail
rules should be resolved as regards various military voters. For
example, the Royal Mail requires the name, rank or rating and
service number to be provided for delivery of election addresses
to absent voters at naval shore establishments but, other than
name, this information is not provided on the electoral register—or
by any other means—to candidates.
ACCESS TO
THE REGISTER
10. Whilst recognising that many electoral
services departments provide a high quality service on a limited
budget, we believe that far too many frequently fail to meet,
in a timely fashion, their legal requirements for provision of
the electoral register. We believe that these rules should be
tightened.
11. Although it does not impact on political
parties and their campaigning, we are very sympathetic to the
concerns of councils who encounter legal restrictions on using
the full electoral register for activities such as consulting
residents on their plans. We believe careful consideration should
be given to getting permission for such data sharing when the
electoral register is compiled, quite separate from any permission
for use of the register for commercial purposes.
12. We also note the similar problem with
elections such as those to SRB Boards. They have excluded those
who have opted-out of the edited register unless they make a specific
request to be included in the vote. It is difficult to see why
this should be considered a satisfactory approach to conducting
such elections.
TIMING OF
ELECTORAL REGISTRATION
13. One final consideration for any changes
to the registration scheme is the timescale for being added to
the register. Other countries even allow registration on polling
day. Although we believe this would be too susceptible to fraud,
we do believe that the current lead times for getting added to
the register are too long. For example, to vote in an election
on 5 May requires an application to join the register to go in
by 13 March. In practice, many members of the public only become
aware of a particular election date much closer to polling day.
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