Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 27
27
Accepted
Develop an automated electoral registration system using shared government data for accuracy.
Conclusion
Data should be shared across government and with appropriate public bodies with the purpose of identifying people who are not on the register or whose details are not up to date. We encourage the Government to develop an automated electoral registration system that actively prompts people to register to vote or update their details, but retains the key democratic function of people actively placing themselves on the register. This would harness the power of the data already held to help make the electoral register both more complete and more accurate. As part of these reforms, a mechanism should also be developed by which people can easily check to see whether they are on the electoral register and confirm that their details are up to date. (Recommendation, Paragraph 90)
Government Response Summary
The government is working to create a system of automated registration, strengthen data provisions, and use non-legislative approaches to facilitate effective data use by Electoral Registration Officers, aligning with the recommendation for data sharing to update the register. It will also explore ways to reduce the burden of applications for those already registered.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Delivering the outcomes of the Review of Electoral Registration and Conduct and the measures detailed in the Strategy for Elections will bring much needed improvements and clarity for administrators and electors and will help in some areas to standardise processes, for example as regards the postal vote system. While we note, with interest, the Committee’s recommendation of a single system for conducting counts, the process of the count is a matter for statutorily independent Returning Officers. It is they, rather than the Government, who are best placed to decide how a count should be conducted based upon their expertise and knowledge of local resourcing and infrastructure. The Electoral Commission publishes wide-ranging guidance to support Returning Officers in their decision making to help facilitate the consistent, smooth, and cohesive delivery of elections. Relating to the potential for a single electoral register, the Government recently set out its plan for improving voter registration as part of the Strategy for Elections. We believe these improvements will deliver significant benefits for electors and local authorities. We are mindful that current registers sit across almost 330 different electoral management system implementations. These are contractual arrangements between local authorities and their respective providers, and which are entirely separate from any government influence or intervention. As such, the task of consolidation into a single register would be both technically and contractually complicated. Regarding a single or integrated platform for electoral administration, we would point the Committee to the Electoral Registration Officer Portal (EROP) which hosts seven different transactional facilities from applications for an absent vote arrangement to applying for a Voter Authority Certificate. EROP integrates with all the electoral management systems, and the MHCLG Elections Digital team continues to develop, test and refine the EROP in close partnership with local authority elections teams. We thank the Committee for their recommendation regarding the positives of data sharing across government departments and agree that this would provide a number of benefits for ways of working. The Government has already begun work to take this forward, as set out in the Strategy for Elections. In summary, as we work to create a system of automated registration, we will, in parallel, act to support current registration processes, including through strengthening data provisions in law where it is necessary to do so, and using non-legislative approaches to support Electoral Registration Officers and local authorities to facilitate the effective use of data at a local level. Central government and its agencies also handle data on citizens which could be used to support registration. As set out in the Government’s blueprint for a modern digital government, harnessing this technology presents us with ever-expanding possibilities to improve the way government delivers for the public. We are also mindful of the number of applications Electoral Registration Officers receive from people already correctly registered, particularly in the busy lead up to a poll. As noted in our Strategy for Elections, we will continue work to explore how this burden may be reduced.