Thousands missing from voting register

Thousands missing from voting register

28 November 2012

OVER 20,000 names could be missing from the electoral register in South Down, a new report has revealed.

The Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland has warned there has been a considerable deterioration in both the accuracy and completeness of the register across Northern Ireland.

It estimates that approximately 400,000 people are not registered at their correct address and that as many as one in five of the entries on the register are inaccurate.

The report — ‘Continuous electoral registration in Northern Ireland’ — finds that the electoral register is 71% complete and 78% accurate. This equates to up to 22,000 people currently living in South Down not being registered to vote and there are inaccuracies in the details of a further 15,000 people.

On a Down District scale this would mean over 15,300 people are not registered to vote and there are errors in the details of over 10,300 people who are on the register

The previous assessment carried out in 2008 estimated the register to be 83% complete and 94% accurate.

The report suggests that the processes currently employed by the Chief Electoral Officer to manage the register under continuous registration have not kept pace with either people moving home or people becoming newly eligible to join the register. As a result there has been a significant decline in the quality of the electoral register.

The head of the Electoral Commission is Downpatrick man, Seamus Magee, who says the findings of the research are a matter of serious concern.

“They could have far reaching consequences for both participation and public confidence in elections in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“We have important elections coming up over the next four years which will depend on complete and accurate electoral registers.

Continuing with the status quo for managing the register is simply not an option. That is why we are calling on the Chief Electoral Officer, with the support of the UK Government, to put in place an immediate action plan to address the findings identified in our report”.

In the report the Commission sets out a number of recommendations, including:

• A comprehensive action plan to begin in early 2013 by the Chief Electoral Officer, which includes contact with every household in Northern Ireland, to verify and update entries on the register and to identify new registrants.

• A change in electoral law to allow for a more flexible form of annual canvass whereby households as well as individuals can be asked to update their registration details. The names of those failing to respond would be retained on the register provided the Chief Electoral Officer was satisfied that their status had not changed.

• A review of the current arrangements in place for data matching and consideration of other data sources that could be used to enhance the accuracy and completeness of the electoral register.

• A statutory performance standards framework in place for the Chief Electoral Officer so that he can measure his performance against independently set standards and so that his management of the electoral register can be benchmarked against Electoral Registration Officers in Great Britain.

South Down MP, Margaret Ritchie, said she believes there is a need to the annual registration system which will entail the deployment of people to knock every door.

“It is important that people are given the opportunity to be on the electoral register and to exercise their vote,” she said.