Third of North's young people could lose vote

More than a third of young people will lose their vote because they have not registered, electoral authorities in the North warned today.

The most likely cause for omission from the roll was people failing to update their details after moving home, the Electoral Commission added.

It said 34% of those aged 18-24 failed to register - compared to just 4% of those aged 65 and over.

Commission head Seamus Magee said: “While the report’s findings are generally encouraging, it also highlights a number of challenges to delivering and maintaining a robust electoral register.

“The Commission has undertaken a number of major public awareness campaigns to encourage all those people who are eligible to register to vote to do so.

“We have particularly targeted those groups that research has indicated less likely to register to vote, including young people and home-movers.”

At the end of December last year, the register was 94% accurate and included 83% of eligible voters.

However, it found inclusion was lower among the young.

Recent legislation passed by the British parliament has given chief electoral officer for Northern Ireland Douglas Bain the power to request information from school principals on eligible pupils within their school.

Mr Bain is confident this new power will help increase the number of young people on the register.

The report from the Commission said ore than half the non-registered were aged between 17 and 34.

More than half of those who have been at their home less than a year had not registered.

That rate declines with each additional year of residence, falling to one-in-eight of those there for five or more years.

The majority of electors changing address are not notifying the Electoral Office.