Electoral Register could damage referendum integrity

Minister

EdgeCase wrote: »

The most obvious way of cleaning it up would be:

After every general election, identify all those people who didn't vote in that poll or the previous poll.
Write to them, asking them to respond to stay on the register.

All you'd need is a form that says:

"Are you still there?"

If you would like to maintain your voter registration, please sign and return this form within 90 days.

Then give them the option of retaining their registration, applying for a postal vote if they're eligible (disability, student away from home etc), blocking the publication fo their name on the register, or deleting themselves entirely for whatever reason.

Also give an option of reporting that a voter has gone away permanently or has died.

If you don't reply, you could be placed on a 'suspended register' for one subsequent election and then removed, if you never reply or show up.

If you were placed on the suspended register, the returning officer might have to verify your address and ensure you're actually still resident there and so on. There might be some extra validation of your details and then you'd be put back onto to the active register.

You also could run a check for people on the suspended register using name and DOB to see if they are on any other constituency's registers...

Super idea. Genuinely. I agree with you.

Sadly I doubt that what you suggest would happen for two reasons
1) Lack of serious political will given that, anecdotally, people do vote twice
2) Lack of effort by the necessary local authority employees - too much like hard work!

Water John

Very little, double voting nowadays, IWT.