Summary
Electoral registration is key to a robust and resilient democracy. The measure of an effective electoral registration system is how complete and accurate the registers are. If completeness levels are low it means there are eligible voters who are not registered and therefore disenfranchised. If the registers are not accurate the system will be vulnerable to fraud. Unchecked, disenfranchisement and weak safeguards against fraud can undermine trust in democracy.
The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 was a major reform and modernisation of registration in Great Britain. The Act abolished the Victorian-era system of registration by ‘heads of household’, meaning that for the first time registration was placed in the hands of individuals, with stronger checks on identity and a new online application system to make registering more straightforward and accessible.
The Act also provided for a range of administrative reforms to the running of elections, including changes to the annual canvass system used by Local Authorities to maintain their registers. Together, these reforms were intended to help improve the accuracy and completeness of registers and support Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in managing elections, helping to ensure that the democratic integrity of the system was improved and maintained.
The Act has been tested by a frequency of major electoral events unprecedented in recent British history, including three general elections and the EU membership referendum. While many aspects of the new system have worked well, it has also brought challenges, particularly the administrative burden of managing the system at election times and of maintaining accuracy and completeness at other times. We gathered evidence on these and other points regarding the system during our inquiry.
One of the Government’s main reasons for introducing the Act was to reduce opportunities to commit electoral fraud through the registration system. We took the opportunity to assess this as well as the wider issues relating to electoral fraud and malpractice, including the Government’s proposals for stronger regulation of postal and proxy voting and their plans to bring in mandatory voter ID at polling stations.
We conclude that there is more to be done as a matter of urgency to build on the 2013 Act. Our recommendations range across the scope of the Act and related issues, but there are key matters where we believe action is especially urgent and where our recommendations are therefore particularly worth highlighting.
Firstly, we heard that while the system had helped to improve the accuracy of registers, completeness had stayed at around the same level and has not improved in subsequent years. This means that millions of eligible voters may still be missing from registers, risking disenfranchisement and damaging the integrity of elections. In taking steps to improve accuracy and completeness the Government should have reference to international good practice from countries such as Canada, which has achieved significantly higher levels of both completeness and accuracy at recent elections. The Government must ensure that it treats improving accuracy and completeness as a major priority in future reforms to electoral registration and administration.
Box 1: Key recommendations of the Committee
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1. The Government must ensure that it treats improving accuracy and completeness as a major priority in future reforms to electoral registration and administration. 2. The Government should pursue further modernisation of registers, including piloting automatic registration for attainers and introducing assisted registration to prompt eligible voters to register when accessing other public services. 3. We call on the Government to publish targets for improving registration rates among under-registered groups and to work closely with the Electoral Commission, Electoral Registration Officers, local communities and third sector organisations to hit those targets, with a focus on civic education and effective, long-term engagement. 4. As part of an overall simplification of processes for both voters and Electoral Registration Officers, we recommend that the Government urgently explore options for introducing an online registration checking tool, with reference to international good practice. 5. The invitation to register process is cumbersome for administrators and confusing for voters. Simplifying this process should be prioritised as part of annual canvass reform. 6. We share the perspective of the Law Commissions on the need for overall reform and streamlining of electoral law. We urge the Government to adopt their proposals at the earliest opportunity. |
Second, we were told that the system of registration needs further modernisation. Many countries have systems of ‘automatic’ registration, by which eligible voters are added automatically to the register through verification from other databases, or ‘assisted’ registration, in which voters are prompted to apply to register when accessing other public services or making online applications. Measures such as these would have a further positive impact on accuracy and completeness and therefore the democratic integrity of the registration system. The Government should pursue further modernisation of registers, including piloting automatic registration for attainers and introducing assisted registration to prompt eligible voters to register when accessing other public services.
Third, we were concerned to hear about ongoing under-registration among particular demographic groups. We call on the Government to publish targets for improving registration rates among these groups and to work closely with the Electoral Commission, EROs), local communities and third sector organisations to hit those targets, with a focus on civic education and effective, long-term engagement.
Fourth, we were told that a major deficiency of the current system was the absence of an online registration checking service. At present, applicants to register online are unable to use the service to check whether they are already registered. This leads to huge numbers of duplicate applications at election times, running into millions nationwide. Each of these applications has to be processed by an administrator in the same way as a legitimate new application, wasting time during an already busy election period. As part of an overall simplification of processes for both voters and EROs, we recommend that the Government urgently explore options for introducing an online registration checking tool, with reference to international good practice.
Fifth, we took evidence on the Government’s plans for annual canvass reform, which are due to be implemented in 2020. The proposed reforms were widely welcomed as a way to ease administrative bureaucracy and to enable electoral staff to focus on eligible electors who are less likely to be registered. Nonetheless, we believe further reforms are necessary to improve the system, in particular to the two-stage ‘invitation to register’ process whereby new voters identified through the canvass are contacted separately to encourage them to register. The invitation to register process is cumbersome for administrators and confusing for voters. Simplifying this process should be prioritised as part of annual canvass reform.
Finally, we heard evidence on the need for wider reform and consolidation of electoral law. We were told that the current system is confusing for administrators, campaigners and voters, with rules spread out over a number of different statutes and important matters not properly clarified in legislation. The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission recently published a report on the urgent need for reform. We share the perspective of the Law Commissions on the need for overall reform and streamlining of electoral law. We urge the Government to adopt their proposals at the earliest opportunity.
At a late stage of our inquiry our work was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While this came too late for us to gather evidence on its implications directly, we are aware that the administration of elections and registration will be affected in the short term and potentially the long term by its impact. In particular, it will have consequences for demand for postal voting and other absent voting options as well as for conducting the annual canvass. We hope that, in responding to our recommendations and when proposing further reforms to the system, the Government and the wider electoral community takes full account of these impacts and works closely together to ensure they are mitigated so far as possible.