Archive for electoral registration
Well done, Evening Standard
A quick update to my post which pointed out how the media had comprehensively misreported findings about how many people are registered to vote, painting an unduly pessimistic picture. The Evening Standard at least has now corrected its report.
Electoral registration: is the problem with young people or with journalism?
Earlier this week the Electoral Commission published a new report, The completeness and accuracy of electoral registers in Great Britain, looking at how electoral registration is working in the UK.
Although it's been widely covered, the coverage has been very similar - taking the top line figures from the report and covering press release without digging in to what the report really says. So if we venture in to the inner reaches of the report, what do we find?
Confirmed: Rwandans to get the vote from 10 March
The decision taken last year to let Rwanda join the Commonwealth means that Rwandan citizens living in the UK acquire the right to vote, including in Parliamentary elections. This change will (thanks to an amendment to the British Nationality Act 1981, adding Rwanda to the list of Commonwealth countries) will come in to force for elections from 10 March.
How to register to vote
Electoral registration is run by local councils, so in order to get on the electoral register you need to fill in a form and return it to your local council. Filling in other paperwork, such as to do with paying Council Tax or getting a driving license, will not add you to the electoral register [...]
Public left confused as wrong people sent information about registering to vote
Mailings intended to tell people who have recently moved how to get on the electoral register have mistakenly been going out to people who have not moved in years.
Lib Dem Voice: reporting the news six months ahead of the Telegraph
Six months after we covered the story of people being asked to supply National Insurance numbers when they register this year, the Daily Telegraph catches up...
How accurate are Britain’s electoral registers?
The electoral register is the definitive record of who can or can't vote in a particular election. Missing people means people aren't able to exercise their democratic rights. Erroneous entries open up possibilities for fraud and for people who shouldn't vote getting to cast a ballot. Statistics derived from the register are widely used to inform and shape other decisions. So having accurate registers is important.
Should copies of the electoral register be put on sale?
The Ministry of Justice is running a consultation on whether bodies such as marketing firms and charities should be able to buy copies of the electoral register to use for their direct mail and other operations. There is a high chance this review could lead to a change in the law.
There are currently three electoral [...]
My secret Government interview: will it now be published?
A little while back I was interviewed as part of a Gateway review into one of the Government’s IT projects. It was for the CORE electoral register project, the successor to LASER, which was originally due to be delivered in the Autumn of 2001. Nearly a decade, and an awful lot of money, on the [...]
What’s the point of switching to individual electoral registration?
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire:
After a long period of stalling, the Government recently finally announced a timetable for switching Britain’s electoral registration system from one based on households to one based on individuals. The Electoral Commission, Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats have been calling for such a switch for a long time, but what’s the [...]
