Labour plans for automatic registration would add millions to electoral roll

Labour is set to bring in automatic registration for voting under plans to add millions to the electoral roll.

The new plans will come on top of changes to extend the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds.

Under the current system, people in the UK need to specifically register if they want to vote in elections.

However, under automatic voter registration, the electoral roll is compiled from other records, such as tax or passport data.

An estimated 7-8 million people are incorrectly recorded on current registers, many of them young, as well as a disproportionate number who are poorer or who live in privately rented homes.

These people tend to be more likely to support Labour, raising the possibility that plans for automatic registration, first reported by The Guardian, would boost the party.

But the Conservatives warned that such a policy would “open the door to electoral fraud”.

Labour’s manifesto says only that it will “improve voter registration”, and a party source denied it had committed to going ahead with the idea.

‘Confusion’ fears

The devolved Labour government in Wales has already decided to trial the change there to work out the best way for it to operate.

When the plan was proposed, the Welsh Conservatives opposed it, saying automatic registration could cause “confusion” and people should be able to register themselves without any problems.

The Electoral Reform Society, which campaigns to make voting easier, said it would welcome the plan.

Dr Jess Garland, its head of research and policy, told The Guardian it would be “a win-win for voters as it would take one more thing off their to-do list, while at the same time strengthening our democracy by helping to enfranchise millions of missing voters”.

A spokesman for the Tories said: “Devoid of any real policies, this is just another Labour plot to fiddle with the electorate like votes at 16.

“Automatic registration would mean more inaccurate entries and open the door to electoral fraud.

“Instead of tinkering with democracy, Labour should tell voters what they’re actually planning, like their £2,094 tax hike on working people.”