Question

To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing automatic voter registration.

The Commission supports electoral registration reforms that would make it easier for people to register or to update their details throughout the year. This might include adding people automatically from other datasets, or other automated solutions which still require confirmatory action by the voter.

In 2019, the Commission investigated the feasibilty of such reforms. It found these were possible from a technical perspective and could be implemented without radically altering the structure of the electoral registration system in the UK.

The Commission's view is that this could help improve registration levels among some under-registered groups, including the youngest part of the franchise. This would ensure that as many people as possible are able to participate in our democracy.