Britain has one of most difficult voter registration processes, report finds | Politics

The UK has one of the tough voter registration processes amongst liberal democracies, in line with analysis that examined 62 international locations.

Necessities to actively register to vote, meet strict deadlines earlier than polling day and forged a poll at particular polling stations make the UK a “actual outlier internationally”, lecturers on the University of Manchester discovered.

Labour has been weighing up proposals to introduce automatic voter registration as a part of a democracy invoice earlier than the following election.

At the moment, folks within the UK have to register in the event that they need to vote, however below computerized registration the electoral roll could be compiled robotically from different information, for instance these linked to tax or passport information.

Campaigners say the change would enfranchise millions more people, particularly those that are youthful, poorer and stay in privately rented houses. The requirement to carry voter ID to the polling station, which was launched by the Conservatives, has been criticised for introducing an extra barrier to voting.

The Manchester researchers discovered that of 28 liberal democracies, the UK, Eire and Barbados have been the international locations the place it was most tough to register to vote.

Maria Sobolewska, a professor of political science on the College of Manchester, mentioned: “Worldwide proof clearly reveals that our voter registration system within the UK is unusually tough for the voter. This contributes to the unequal ranges of democratic participation we see at elections. Making registration computerized or automated is definitely probably the most pressing reform to our election legal guidelines.”

International locations the place voters are registered robotically utilizing information from authorities databases embrace Iceland, Argentina and South Korea.

Separate research by the marketing campaign group Era Lease estimated that 91% of UK non-public renters aged 16 or over – greater than 8.5 million folks – could benefit from automatic voter registration.

Simply 65% of renters are precisely registered at current, in line with Electoral Fee information. Solely 39% of people that have lived of their house for lower than a yr are appropriately registered on the electoral roll, in contrast with 95% for many who have lived of their house for 16 years or extra.

Dan Wilson Craw, the deputy chief govt of Era Lease, mentioned: “Frequent home strikes, usually prompted by evictions, put non-public renters at an obstacle within the UK’s electoral system. That is exacerbated by the additional problem of registering to vote in contrast with comparable democracies. In consequence, non-public renters can wrestle to be heard on the poll field.”

As a part of its plans for a democracy invoice, Labour can also be inspecting potential modifications to the system of political donations. The celebration made a manifesto promise to lower the voting age to 16, which Keir Starmer recommitted to at a committee listening to final month.

Voter turnout within the 2024 basic election was 59.7% and has not reached 70% in any election since 1997. A report by the Institute for Public Coverage Analysis final yr found that when accounting for folks not registered on the electoral roll, simply 52% of adults dwelling within the UK had exercised their proper to vote, the bottom proportion since common suffrage was launched.