Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 31
31
Acknowledged
Improve postal voting information for voters using targeted messaging and electoral data
Recommendation
The Government should improve the information on postal voting given to voters before and after any application they make. The establishment of a single electoral register and good use of public data should allow for more localised and targeted messaging to be provided. (Recommendation, Paragraph 103)
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the need to improve voter registration and data use, outlining plans for a Strategy for Elections and automated registration, but notes the technical and contractual complications of establishing a single electoral register.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
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.