Electoral registration in Northern Ireland
From Democracywiki
Central Lobby
December 2005
In November 2004 the Government announced that it was committed to moving away from the legal requirement for the electoral register to be completely refreshed each year. There was widespread concern from across the political spectrum that the requirement on voters to re-register and provide their personal identifiers annually, introduced by the Electoral Fraud Act 2002, was contributing to a decline in electoral registration.
The Government proposals include
- retaining both individual registration and the requirement that all individuals registering for the first time or seeking to effect a change to their details on the register should provide their three individual personal identifiers (signature, date of birth and National Insurance number).
- Repealing the legal requirement to have an annual canvass. This will remove the need for individuals to provide information afresh each year. In addition, the Chief Electoral Officer will be given additional access to appropriate data to enable him to ensure that individuals' records are kept up to date, and to take proactive steps to target those not on the register for registration.
- Shortening the deadline for registration before an election to 11 days before polling day, subject to certain conditions to guard against fraud.
- Giving the Chief Electoral Officer the power, with the approval of the Secretary of State, to conduct a canvass if he thinks it necessary to refresh the electoral roll.
The Government also asked for views on whether allowing anonymous registration, which is currently being proposed in Great Britain, should also be established in Northern Ireland. The purpose of such a scheme would be to deal with cases where an individual might be put at risk if the register contained his or her name and address.
Legislation is expected in the New Year.
