North's voter list requirement scrapped

The British government is to scrap the practice of making voters in Northern Ireland register every year for elections.

In a written Commons statement, Northern Ireland Office minister John Spellar said while the annual drive to register voters had resulted in a more accurate electoral list, it recognised concerns that it had had a negative impact on some people.

He insisted: “The (British) government is satisfied that these measures have been extremely successful in substantially improving the accuracy of the electoral register in Northern Ireland.

“The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland has undertaken a substantial programme of work to make the changes a success. As a result, there are now comprehensive systems in place to check and maintain the integrity of the register.

“However, there are concerns across the political spectrum that the requirement on voters to re-register and provide their personal identifiers afresh each year is leading to a downward drift in the overall numbers registered. The Chief Electoral Officer and I share those concerns.”

With local government and possibly Westminster elections due to take place in Northern Ireland next year, parties have been critical of the annual requirement on voters to register.

They claim some people have been confused by the process – assuming once they had signed on they will be eligible to vote in future elections.

Sinn Féin in particular has been highly critical of the process, claiming it has disenfranchised around 210,000 people.

Mr Spellar noted today the register published in February after last year’s canvass showed that 1,069,160 people, or approximately 87% of the eligible population in Northern Ireland, were registered to vote.

The British government, he said, was determined to ensure as many people were on the register and able to use their vote.

“Our goal is an electoral register that is both as accurate and as comprehensive as possible,” the minister said.

“In the light of that, I can announce today that the government is committed to moving away from the legal requirement for the register to be completely refreshed each year.

“This will reduce the burden on the individual citizen. And it will allow resources to be redirected towards targeting those groups where rates of registration are low.

“However, the government is absolutely clear that any reform must also preserve the very high level of accuracy delivered as a result of the 2002 Act.

“So we will be actively considering what additional security or checking measures might need to be put in place to ensure that this remains the case, to ensure that accuracy can go hand in hand with rising levels of registration.

“I have discussed options with the Chief Electoral Officer and begun consultation with the Northern Ireland political parties on a number of ideas. In due course I will also be consulting the Electoral Commission.”